The Lost Heir
by beyondcrazy
Summary: Sehkmet is a 17 year old girl from unknown regions who knows nothing of her past. Queen Rutela found her as a child and has raised her as a Zora. What will happen when the Zora prince dissapears and Twilight overtakes Hyrule? LinkxOC
1. Prologue

The Lost Heir: Prologue

**H**yrule, a land of great holy power. The three goddesses created the land out of benevolence and virtue. The trees and grass and all other creatures who roam it speak of their grace and kindness.

I beg to differ.

I've traveled this land hundreds of times and found no such trees or creatures who speak of their "benevolence." None speak of the goddesses, especially in these terrible times. Even as a child I have been troubled by terrible fortune.

Queen Rutela found me as a child on the bank of Lake Hylia, unconscious and bleeding profusely. She took me to the Lanayru Shrine and nursed me back into health. I became her daughter and the Princess of the Zora. My Father, the King, passed away while my mother was pregnant with Ralis, and after my brother's birth the people started to realize my mother's ailing spirit. She was dying, and we all knew it.

The years passed and I grew to become one of the Zora. I could swim like a fish and sprint like a horse. My tribe loved me and I loved them back, but, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing a big part of me.

You see, that day Mother found me on the shores of the Lake, I received a concussion. I forgot everything. My family, my home, my name, they were all gone; all washed away into the lake. The only key I had to my past was a small bangle on my ankle that has what I assumed to be my name inscribed it.

You see, the goddesses aren't what give our lives virtue, it's our loved ones. During my most trying times, I have gained many friends and a powerful love, giving me more strength than any holy power could.

Of course, in the end the cruel goddesses gave me a choice. I could either return to the past existence I had, the one I've yearned to know about my whole life, or I could spend the rest of my days with my lover, never to see my past life again.

My name is Sehkmet, and here is my story.


	2. Of Moblins and Princes

**Author's Note:** Okay so I have to fix some parts of this chapter, since Ralis doesn't leave because mummy Rutela died, but because he wants medicine for her. _Then_ she dies. Silly me.

Chapter 1: Of Moblins and Princes

Ever since my mother, Queen Rutela of the Zora, fell ill of an unknown sickness, my people where devastated; particularly my younger brother, Ralis, who would then receive full responsibility of the throne if mother didn't recover. Since I was not blood related to Rutela, tradition forbade me from taking the throne. Ralis's behavior at the time had been bothering me. He seemed slow to react and in deep thought, as if he was planning something big, and the rest of the tribe started to notice. We all tried to get the young zora to speak to us, but he rarely acknowledged us, and when he did it was always a dismissive wave or shrug. I knew my little brother was up to something, but I told him to stay in the domain, and I would take care of everything. Even though he seemed shy and passive, he was actually very stubborn with a deep pride in his people. I somehow knew he wouldn't take his mother's death without a fight.

I decided to take Ralis with me to Castle Town to see what the doctor had to say about our mother's symptoms, maybe to shed some light on this grim situation. As I leapt from one rocky ledge to another, an ominous sense of something wrong hung over me, but I shrugged the feeling off, and continued working my way up the waterfall. The Zora's Domain was comprised of two main chambers, separated by a waterfall. Now I may swim well, but there are somethings hylians (which I always assumed I was) were simply not meant to do. Swimming up a waterfall is one of those things. So I chose to take the more scenic route up some ledges by the waterfall. It took some degree of physical strength, but nothing too severe. When you swim up the waterfall (or hop a series of ledges as I do) from the main chamber to the top, there is a path leading to the throne room, which has a grotto in the center of it. The grotto contained the Zora City, where small boulders provided as doors to houses in the stone crevices.

However, instead of living in the city, I took residence in the Lakebed Temple, to watch over Lake Hylia and Zora River. It wasn't the most lavish of locations, what with is being mostly a big wet cave, but I found enough of a dry spot to sanction off and call home. Compared to the rest of the temple, it was rather comfortable and luxurious. Though living so far away from other people tended to be a lonely existence. Which is why I visited the domain every day if I could.

One might be curious as to how I could spend so much time in the water if I didn't have gills. An ancient golden Zora scale, once used by the Hero of Time himself, enabled me to breath underwater. My mother had it fashioned into a pendant when I was younger, telling me I was now "one of the tribe" with it on. Which meant the world to me at the time. She's since told me that I didn't need the pendant to be part of the zora, but I dismissed it as her apologizing for something she thought she did wrong before her time comes. I told her I always knew I was part of her family, making her smile. When she smiled I always felt better...

As I hoisted myself to the top of the cliff leading to the Royal Chamber, I immediately heard a panicked frenzy in the room. As princess I was expected to have a certain degree of crowd control skills, which I had, even thought as far as I knew I wasn't related to any royalty. I quickly made my way towards the loud yelling and splashing, and tried to get some answers out of a frantic citizen.

"Calm yourself! Tell me what has you in such a fuss!" I demanded the nearest person, who was searching anxiously for something.

"Your Highness! He's gone! He's gone!" A young servant started kneeling, tugging on my hand and pressing her cold head against it. She shook terribly and a nagging anger nipped at my brain, but I still kept my composure as well as I could. It annoyed me to no end when they did this: groveling and begging for forgiveness. It insulted me that they thought I would punish them for such simple things(though a missing person diffidently doesn't count as simple), but I held my tongue and rubbed the servants shaking shoulders for comfort. My stubborn tendencies I had been trying to suppress since I was a child tended to come though in panicked situations, which made me short of temper. Diffidently not a shining quality for a princess. "Where has he gone? Oh forgive me, Milady! He is gone!"

"Who is gone?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"Prince Ralis, Your Highness… He's gone… He's gone…" She started chanting through her sobs while she tugged harder and harder on my arm until the point I though she was going to rip it off.

I gave her a gentle pat on the back and whispered some hollow comforts to her then walked off to the nearest guards, glad to be rid of the hysteric servant. I scolded myself for being so cold. 'You have to care for everyone, Sehkmet. Set aside your tendencies and act like a proper princess!'

"Aukai! Alohilani! Station guards up and down the river! I want my brother safe!" I ordered my personal guards, but they were so caught up in shock, they made no advance to move, "NOW!" It felt good to yell.

My tone got through to them and they barked orders at the other guards and ordered the other citizens to remain in the grotto. I swam down into the center of the grotto to inform the tribe of the current situation. One never really gets used to talking in water when you aren't a water breather. "Right now I have all of the guards searching high and low for the prince. I need you all to remain calm and stay here. The last thing we need right now is another missing person." My voice was choppy and broken, due to being underwater, but the people understood it nevertheless. I mentally applauded myself for not sounding too harsh.

Then came the hard part, telling my mother the news. She was already frail and I was afraid the news would cause her to become more sick, but she needed to know what happened in her kingdom. She was queen after all. I swam to the largest coral building, the royal house, and slid myself through some of the women gathered around mother's bed. They turned and looked at me with desperate eyes, and I knew then what was going on.

My mother's time had come.

She was taking long, shallow breaths, and looked peaceful for the first time in months. The disease had been so painful for her, and now the pain had left, all that was left was the goodbyes. She turned her head to me and smiled, but not the smile I always loved that could cheer me up on my worst days; a tired,weak smile that broke my heart into pieces. Had I not already been underwater I would have been already crying.

"Sehkmet... Come," she raised her hand and I gently took it, feeling the soft, cold flesh against my warm skin. I bent my knees under myself, as if I was sitting near the bed, and I waited for her to speak. "It's time, my love."

"I know, mother," I choked out.

"Ralis has gone to look for my cure, but it will be too late. Find him my daughter. There are trying times ahead, an I will help anyway I can. But first I need you to do something for me..." She spoke slowly and deliberately, commanding my absolute attention, "Find the hero of time. He can help you find your brother and save our people."

"Save us from what mother?" I asked, but I knew I wasn't getting an answer.

"I love you, Sehkmet."

"I love you too, mother," I whispered as I kissed her cheek, feeling the life drain from her hands. The women in the room were distraught, but I didn't have time to be concerned with them. My mother sent me on a mission, and I'll be damned if I wasn't going to do it.

"Ralis… Where are you?"

* * *

It had been five days since Ralis's disappearance, and the people had become more and more worried. I'd tried my best to keep the people calm and look for my brother, but all of the work has been driving me to exhaustion. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go. I decided now was the best time to be proactive and start looking for this hero mother spoke of.

I was at that moment mounted on my horse, Bora, a snow white mare with black hooves and snout. She was wild when I met her as a child, but with a few stolen oats(another natural tendency I had to rid myself of) I quickly became friends. Eventually she let me ride her and I bought her a proper saddle and reigns. When I wasn't around she usually roamed around the country, particularly fond of Falbi and his foolish "Flight-by-Fowl" game house. Evidently he feeds her when he puts the cuckoos out to graze. I would have thanked him in person, had he not been so... unsettling in character and appearance. I kept Bora at a steady trot, giving plenty of time for me to observe over the lake. It was getting dark, so I sighed to myself and turned around to head back to the Temple. I dismounted Bora and hopped up on the small fence close to the edge of the cliff above the lake. As I prepared myself for my dive, something frightened Bora and she gave a frightened bray while rearing back, knocking me off of the ledge. I managed to grab on to a stray rock peeking out of the cliff edge, but, due to my current exhaustion, couldn't find the strength in me to pull myself up. A few unsavory words flew through my minds as I hung there. I considered just falling, but a lack of form while diving could've made my neck snap at the impact. I called out for help, but quickly determined there was nobody around to help. Whatever that scared Bora must have run off by then.

I prepared myself for some haphazard diving, but then a calloused and clammy hand shot down and yanked me from my position. The person the hand belonged to dropped me on the ground, and I caught my breath. I looked at my arm and noticed dirt and grime where the person grabbed my arm. 'Lovely… Would it kill people to wash up? Beggars can't be choosers I guess. I suppose they deserve some notion of gratitude…' I thought to myself. I looked up to thank my rescuer, only to find a hideous impish face smirking its disgusting lips down on me. Before I could process what was happening, it took its club and struck me against the head. Searing pain shot through my spine and I cried out to the darkening sky. The last thing I remember was the moblin's head kicked in by Bora's hoof, to which I would have laughed had I not been just bludgeoned, and then all went black.

* * *

It felt as if I was falling, but in one spot at the same time. Suspended in time and space. I opened my eyes and everything is grey, like an image taken by an old pictobox. I was floating, or in the process of falling off of a cliff. I moved my body to look at my hands, just to make sure I wasn't dead. My hands where there, in full color as a matter of fact; but they where a child's. The dark skinned fingers wiggled when my brain told them to, but the reality had trouble sinking in. 'Where am I?' I thought. Maybe I was dead…

I looked up, but only saw the fiery red color of my hair. It was loose and flowing into the air, like I was swimming in invisible water. I leaned my figure forward and brushed my hair behind my head, searching for some clue as to where I was. After a few minutes of observation, I figured I must be at the cliff that drops to Lake Hylia, near the Gerudo Desert. As I looked around with by tiny eyes, I spot Lord Bulbin, the moblin leader, sitting proudly upon Lord Bullbo, smirking towards me. He too was in full color, and he had something colorful unconscious lying behind him. It appeared to be a woman with the same hair and skin color as me. She wore bright green garb and wore jewels in her hair and all over her body. Bulbin's other stooges all had women in similar clothes in cages chained to the ferocious swine. They all looked so similar, as if they were sisters or something.

The women in the cages seemed to be screaming, and they all where reaching towards me. They looked so scared, I wanted to reach out and touch their hands, just to comfort them. I stretch my diminutive arm to them, knowing I wouldn't reach them. When my arm just couldn't go any further, time started playing again.

I heard all of the women screaming, Bulbin and the moblins cackling, and wind furiously whirring past my head. All of the sounds gave me sensory overload and my head started to pound wrathfully, but the cries of the women drilled into my head, making my head throb even harder. Each and every one of them where projecting blood curdling screams that made me shiver from fright.

All of them where screaming my name.

"SEKHMET!"


	3. Old Friends and New Acquaintances

Chapter 2: Old Friends and New Acquaintances

When my small body hit the water, I woke up from the nightmare. I felt myself moving, which made my head ache slightly. The soothing sound of water and the gentle hoof beats of a horse eased away the pain, but struck confusion in my mind, groggy from recently waking up. I fluttered my eyes open, only to immediately shut them, squeezing the bright morning light from my sensitive eyes. Once my sight adjusted to the light, I stretched and rubbed my head out of habit, then found my head had been shoddily wrapped in cloth, damp from what I assumed to be blood. I looked down and found myself propped awkwardly upon Bora, who was leisurely trotting in a field in what appeared to be South Hyrule. I patted her on the head to let her know I was awake, which she gave a whinny of joy to.

Bora jerked her head to the side, gesturing her head towards a satchel attached to her saddle. Curious, I opened the bag, revealing a small message tied around a bottle. The message read, _"This should help that nasty wound on your head. My medical skills aren't the best, but the bandage will stop some of the bleeding. No need to pay me back, your horse has provided sufficient security over the years. Consider this as payment. –Mr. Falbi P.S.: I sent you and your horse southwards to Ordon, there seems to be a bad storm rolling in. Didn't want you caught up in it."_

I looked at the contents in the bottle and immediately recognized the liquid as fairy's tears. 'He must have been saving these for an emergency. These are extremely rare in these times.' I removed the cork and took a quick swig of the fluid. It had a unique and sweet taste to it, and the throbbing pain in my head lessened immediately. 'I must save the rest for another crucial time. This could be the best fortune I've had in days.'

I pondered at what Falbi said in his letter; something was mentioned about a storm. 'I don't remember any storm clouds, but maybe my fatigue has some blame...' I recalled him mentioning Ordon, a region of Hyrule I had yet to explore. I wasn't carrying a map, so I just had to follow a series of signs leading to the village. 'Maybe there I can get some information on my brother and this mysterious storm…' I wasn't terribly hopeful that these southerners would have much on a zora prince and a storm way up in the north, but I was running out of options at this point.

The fields of Hyrule where vast and wide, stretched beyond horizons and melting into a border-like wooded area. A calm breeze flowed over the grass, which seemed to be pulling me southward. I gratefully complied and rode Bora along the gusts, feeling a moment's peace, something I had greatly needed. After an hour or two of riding, I realized the growing hunger that plagued my body. I figured Bora must have had quite the appetite as well, so I quickly found the nearest route to the Faron Province.

Upon arriving to the entrance to the Faron Woods, I found an old friend sitting by a fire, with a few woodland creatures nestled in his wooly mane. "Well, well! If it isn't Mr. Coro! I haven't seen you since we were children!" I exclaimed, with pseudo-haughtiness, pulling Bora to a gentle halt as I dismounted, thrilled to see that Iza and Hena's brother was safe, "You really do worry your sisters by refusing to write, you know." That was just a plain lie. His sisters wanted very little to do with him. I could somewhat see why, as he was very lazy and wasn't good at managing funds, but he was always nice to me.

"Ah, you sound like my mother, Seki! Or should I call you Princess Sekhmet now?" Coro gave me a bantering glance and grinned while he stirred his soup. I gave him a bit of a glare; he knew how much I hated that nickname. He took a spoonful of the broth up to his mouth and blew, cooling the liquid down. Once he was satisfied with the temperature, he took a quick sip, and smiled in content. He glanced at me and seemed a bit startled, "Oh, where are my manners? Here, have some, it is a special recipe." I resisted the urge to vomit.

"Oh no, thank you. I must be going to Ordon soon. But I would like to ask a few things before I depart." I replied. I agreed with my self that no length of starvation would ever lead me to eat Coro's food. He had always been a terrible cook; he got it from his father. Maybe _that's_ why his sisters don't want him around...

"Oh sure, anything for an old pal!" He didn't seem phased in the least by my dismayed expression after his offer. Apparently it was I who needed to learn some manners.

"My brother has recently gone missing. While searching I received word that a storm was approaching. Do you have any information on either topic?" As my words progressed, Coro's expression became darker and darker, which was very different from his usual jovial self. While this alarmed me, I kept a businesslike tone in my voice. No need for us both to panic.

"I… I think you should go get yourself checked out at the village; that wound looks pretty bad…" His sudden change in topic caught me off guard; there was something he wasn't telling me. I decided I wouldn't push him due to my growing hunger. I knew that if he heard my stomach's wrath he would have me eat his food even if he had to force me. We quickly exchanged farewells and I mounted Bora and rapidly rode her through the forest. Something about Coro's reaction stuck with me in an ominous way. I brushed it off immediately and focused on getting some food in my stomach.

I took the path through the woods and passed a spring along the way. I decided to continue, seeing another spring ahead on the map Coro gave me. He found no use in it since he knew the woods so well, so he was glad to give it to me. I crossed a wooden bridge connecting to the Ordona Province, but with some difficulty. Bora seemed a bit spooked by the clear visibility of the void below us. I ushered her onwards and stopped at the Ordon Spring, letting Bora get a quick drink and giving myself time to clean and dress my wounds with emergency bandages I keep in Bora's saddle. The waterfall and swaying of the trees made me sleepy. But I refused to fall asleep until I figured out what my dream before meant. 'All of those women… Where screaming my name…' I was in deep thought, so I didn't notice someone walk up beside me.

"She's beautiful. What's her name?" I was so startled by the sudden comment I couldn't help but give a quick yelp, "Oh, forgive me, did I startle you?" The voice belonged to a girl a year or two younger than me with sandy blonde hair and commoner's clothes. Well, I assumed they're commoner's clothes. Like I said, I'd never travelled there before.

"Her name's Bora, "I responded to the question, not sensing any hostility in the girl, "Sorry we're not from around here. It's been a long travel from Lake Hylia."

"Lake Hylia? My, that _is_ a long way to travel. You both must be tired. If you want, I can show you to my village. It's no Castle Town but it is a decent place to rest." I offered her Bora's reins and she led both of us out of the spring and past a house built in a tree. The girl took a lingering glance at the house and continued down the path. "I'm sorry, Miss. I don't believe I caught your name. I'm Ilia." She said over her shoulder with a kind smile on her face.

"Sekhmet of the Zora tribe," I told the girl absent-mindedly. I was taken by the subtle beauty of the village and its rural atmosphere. I had realized I made a mistake in my introduction, "_Princess_ Sehkmet." I had to reassure myself of that from time to time. Plus the royal title tends to get attention from the villagers, and that could be vital when I got around to collecting information.

"Princess? My, I don't believe our little town has ever seen royalty before. Though, if I am so bold as to say, you don't look like what I imagined a Zora to look like…" The girl stopped for a moment and examined my attire and complexion. I do suppose I don't exactly fit the description of a Zora. The Zora were beautiful people with multi-colored scales that glistened in the sun, and flowing fins that almost looked like cloth. I, however, was a seventeen year old girl, Hylian I presume, with bronze skin and red hair bright as fire and eyes as blue as the ice of Snowpeak. I can see where this girl could be confused.

"Oh, that is because I'm not a Zora. I was adopted by Queen Rutela, and raised as one of the Zora people." I stated after a long pause. It hurt to talk about my mother so soon after her death, but it was obvious this girl hadn't ever left her village so she didn't pick up the saddness in my voice. The girl just stared at me in awe, creating an awkward silence. I coughed to break the pause, and then she turned away, embarrassed at her own behavior. I smiled a bit at the girl. I had a feeling she thought she was ruining her first impression on me. She latched closely to Bora, who was also enjoying herself by the looks of it. I could tell that Ilia wanted to ask why I was adopted, but didn't want to pry any further as to make me uncomfortable.

"Oh, we are at the ranch now. Over there is Fado, he owns the Ranch. And over there is…" She turned her attention to something in the field and started to blush furiously. I followed her eyes and immediately recognized what she was looking at. A boy that looked no older than myself was riding a chocolate brown mare with a white mane. He jumped the obstacles set out with ease and the horse moved with his every motion. Fado noticed Ilia and I standing at the entrance and waved towards us. He started sprinting over to us, but not before the boy and his horse could dash over to us at great speed. The boy's skill on a horse was impressive, but something told me that's not why Ilia was so flustered.

The boy pulled on the reigns and dismounted the gorgeous mare. He looked up at us and nodded towards my direction, "Hey, Ilia, who's this?"he said in a somewhat deep voice. Ilia stared at him for a moment and came back to her senses.

"O-oh… This is Sekhmet…" Ilia averted her gaze for a moment, then straightened up, "She's a princess!" she added with much enthusiasm. I laughed a bit at her energy, but ended up jarring my head in the proccess, so I kept my amusement silent for the moment.

"Oh, really? Mighty strange for royal folk to be wanderin' 'round these parts." A new voice with a thick rural accent chimed in behind the blonde boy. Once I got a good look at him I remembered him as the man out in the field earlier, Fado. His voice was a bit annoying, but I wasn't really one to judge. When I wasn't paying attention I tended to slip into an accent that nobody in my tribe could identify.

"Yes, I suppose. Anyways, welcome to Ordon. I'm Link," The sandy haired man stretched his arm out to me for a hand shake, and I accepted it gratefully. I glanced at his face and, admittedly, did lose my bearings for a moment. He was quite handsome with deep blue eyes and wafting blonde hair. But I dismissed the notion. When you look at fish people all day, any moderately handsome man could look like a god.

I quickly gained my composure and replied, "Thank you, sir. If you don't mind, I would very much like a place to rest." I rubbed the back of my head, only to curse myself for doing so. I winced and brought my hand down, it covered in blood. 'Excellent...' I wouldn't hear the end of it now. Hopefully they would let me leave soon. The particularly hospitable people can be the most troublesome when you're in a hurry.

"You're hurt," Link said as he swiftly approached me. He gently grabbed my chin and moved my head to the side, wincing slightly at the sight of my wound. I was taken back by how straightforward he was. Though I couldn't say I hated it. I didn't love it either, as even his gentle touch felt like he was jerking me around like a doll.

"I'm fine, I just need some air." I replied trying to pry my body away from his. I felt the warm fluid under my bandages drip down to my neck. He moved his hands to my shoulders and kept me steady. The more I fought against him the more the blood leaked out.

"You'll fall," he bluntly stated. I looked at him confused, and, getting irritated, pulled my body away from his. I soon regretted moving without his help, because the next thing I remembered was looking straight at the sky. I cursed myself again for being so stubborn. I knew one day my stubbornness would be the death of me.

"Oh! Your head is bleeding!" Ilia shouted, not really helping my migraine. Link and Fado helped me up while Ilia watched worriedly. "Pergie should have some medical supplies. After all she is Talo and Malo's mother…" Fado gave a quiet chuckle and Link just focused on keeping me stable. I wanted to glare at the rancher for being so casual about my wound, but I was too distracted being in intense pain.

At this point I am feeling very faint, every motion felt like I was being jerked from all directions. Link saw I was on the verge of blacking out, so he picked me up and sat me on his horse. "Hold on to Epona's neck," he commanded. I tried to thank him but I was too weak.

"Thank..." I mumbled, unable to gain enough breath to speak. Link nodded in understanding, keeping a strong hand on my back to keep me from falling, and slowly led Epona, the brown mare, out of the ranch and towards a house with a small waterwheel attached to the side.


	4. Emotions and Jewelry

**Author's note: **I've done some serious editing to this chapter. I didn't realize how flat my character was until a couple years after writing this. I'm going to try to give her some more personality and depth so hang in there people! Just be warned, she's going to break out of this "perfect princess" mold eventually so don't get to attached to her demure side.

Chapter 3: Emotions and Jewelry

I regained consciousness a while after blacking out in the field, but didn't open my eyes right away. My head was slightly throbbing but nothing too painful. Voices where swarming in a distance, but my dazed state was far too powerful for me to comprehend what they were saying. One voice was a woman's, feminine yet deep. Another was a man's, I assume, for the voice was deep but somewhat whiney. Both voices were coming closer within my grasp as the fog in my head cleared ever so slightly.

I open one eye to test my vision, only to be met with relentless rays of the setting sun on my face. I quickly shut it tight but the light still burned in my cornea. I gave a groan of disapproval and was soon met with a barrage of a wet tongue on my face.

This time I open both eyes fully, ignoring the initial pain, to find that tongue belonged to a puppy excitedly greeting me to the waking world. I gave a slight giggle and wiped the saliva off me with my arm. I flashed a tiny grin and turned my attention to the people with me in the room. They seemed to be a married couple from the village I had seen earlier.

"_Well, at least I know I'm still in Ordon…_" I thought to myself, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and lifting my heavy head now adorned with heavy bandaging. I look down and realize I'm on the top bunk of the bed. I quietly climb down the ladder and make my way towards the door. I needed some fresh air right that moment and I would thank the kind people later.

However, just before I could turn the doorknob, the dog from before jumped from the top bunk and gave a loud bark, then headed straight for me, tail wagging. I cursed inwardly and sighed deeply turning around to see the woman at the stove and her husband looking intently at me.

"Oh! You're awake! Well thank goodness; I thought Ilia was going to go downright insane waiting for you to wake up." The woman chortled as she resumed her cooking, "By the way, Ilia should be coming to check on you soon. You should go out and tell her you are doing fine."

I nodded in great appreciation and quickly made my way outside. There was a large wooden table just outside the house, and a bridge leading to another part of the village which I thought was a convenient place to gather the fresh Ordon air. I sat on the small bridge with small catfish swimming blissfully below in the water. I could hear children playing in the distance and closed my eyes. This must be what true peace is like. No royal obligations, no political responsibility, just life surrounded with happiness. My breathing became shallow as I began to think of Ralis and Mother. They would have liked it here, even if the water isn't that deep. Ralis could play with the children, and Mother…

A single tear fell from my face, falling into the water. I open my eyes and gaze towards the small lake shore, where a mother duck was leading her ducklings. A solemn smile graced my lips and I sighed a quivering breath before I wiped the tears away. I enjoyed the scenery some more while I thought about my brother and where he could be, when a voice startled me.

"Your wound… Does it hurt?" the voice, belonging to the man from before, Link, came from a nearby tree, looking concerned and tired.

I jumped in surprise and found myself still crying from before. "O-Oh! Uh, no my head is fine…" I muttered as I quickly wiped my vulnerability away.

"You're crying," He said bluntly, yet not harshly. He had a way about him to show his concern without many words.

"Yes," I drawled quietly, secretly embarrassed to be caught so emotional. Such shows of immense sentiment are very inappropriate for royalty, "forgive me."

"For what?" he asked, making his way towards me, sitting beside my spot. My back was slumped and my hands where folded in my lap.

His question struck me as odd. "Well, because I'm being so improper in public. I'm royalty after all…" I was getting angered by my own words, and it was obviously confusing him. Mother never really taught me to hold my emotions in; I just assumed that was how royalty acted. I assumed a lot of things growing up, such as my parents must have been killed and I would never know where I came from. It all rushed at me in one sweeping wave of emotion and I had to bite my lip to keep from openly weeping. I never liked restricting my happiness or sadness as a child, I just was desperate to prove that I could be a suitable princess. I was desperate to prove I belonged with the zora.

"You are human, not stone," Link said, standing up, "You're in pain. It's okay to cry…" he looked at me with heartfelt eyes that made me stop thinking altogether. He gave me a small smile and offered me his hand and I took it with some hesitation.

"Ilia is worried."

Link led me to the mayor's house, where I assured Ilia that my wounds were healing splendidly. Thankfully, Link didn't mention the episode on the bridge, but I figured he wanted to know the details before spilling any details. He didn't seem like a gossip prone person anyways.

Ilia offered me her bed, but I had to refuse. It would be incredibly rude to take a bed from someone. So Link suggested that I stay in an extra cot at his home, the tree house right at the entrance of the village. I reluctantly accepted, after all, I had just met him. However the cottages in the village were very small and not meant for more people than the family living there, so Link's extra bed was my only option.

Ilia, however, was less than pleased. It was obvious she had a crush on Link, though he seemed oblivious to it. Either he was really naive or cruel; though the former seemed far more likely. We walked outside and we heard Fado shout from the ranch.

"OY! GOAT GOT LOOSE AGAIN!" though I appreciated the warning, I could tell it was too late. The goat was about two meters away from me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I brought my arms is closely and looked down, wincing, preparing for more pain.

But all I felt was a slight nudge.

I looked up in surprise, to find Link wrestling the goat to the ground, with his elbow slightly prodding my arm. You can imagine how surprised I was! Now, Link wasn't gaunt by any means, he actually was very well built, but that kind of strength was simply unexpected for a shepherd. The goat, though twice his size, eventually succumbed to Link's might, and skittered off towards the ranch.

Link turned to me, not even breaking a sweat, and asked, "Are you hurt?" I imagined that I looked more like my brethren more so now than ever before.

"I- You… saved me. Thank you!" For the second time today I felt indebted to him. Link looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer, but I waved him off, "No, no. I'm fine. But, what about you? Are you okay?" Link was wringing his hands, so, out of instinct, I grabbed them to check if they where hurt.

"Heh heh! No need to worry 'bout him girlie! He deals with Fado's recklessness daily!" chuckled Bo, the mayor, as he patted Link on the back.

"I'm fine, thank you." Link assured me, "You can let go now." I quickly let go when something hit me. Like a vague memory just out of my reach. Like his voice just became very familiar…

"Sorry…" I drawled, trying to recall any memories I might have forgotten. But I couldn't think of anything.

Link led me and Epona to his house while I just let Bora roam freely about the village. Once we got to his house, he tied Epona up next to the tree the building rested upon, and climbed up the ladder, going first so he could help me at the top. I made a note of how much of a gentleman he was. I've seen royalty from all over the world, and all the princes and lords had such a thick facade of courtesy, it made me sick to my stomach. But Link was genuinely polite, and if he wasn't he hid it very well. Deep down I felt a bit jealous of his humbleness, because I knew I was guilty of that courteous facade myself.

When he opened the door and let me in, I couldn't help but giggle. His house was a mess! I realized how rude I was being and shot Link an apologetic glance, but he just gave a sheepish grin and walked toward the hearth. As he turned his back the amused look on my face returned. He started a fire and laid out two thick mats and wool blankets on top of them. I smiled at how quaint he was, yet he seemed so happy. I was by no means high maintenance, but I had grown accustomed to the luxuries of royal life. However under the right circumstances, I would take a small house like this over a palace any day. The right circumstances, of course, seemed a distant dream at this point.

Link cooked a simple meal, which I found delicious due to not eating in who knows how long. He went down a ladder into a very dark basement to look for extra blankets, just in case it got too cold, while I looked at his vast amount of books lining shelves around the house. He seemed to have a rather large range of interests, if the bookshelf said anything about him. There were some about fishing, archery, tales of heroism and exploration, and some small histories of various regions of Hyrule. One book caught my attention, "A History of Gerudo Valley," and as I flipped through the pages I became intrigued at the lavish lifestyles the almost exclusively female desert society lived.

"That's one of my favorites," A voice said beside me, making me jump.

"Oh? Why is that?" I glanced up at Link laying out the blankets then moved my eyes back to the pages.

He simply shrugged and said, "It's rather exotic compared to Ordon. I wouldn't mind visiting the desert someday."

I couldn't help but think, 'Maybe because there's only women there?' but I kept that to myself, as Link didn't strike me as the womanizing type. Otherwise I diffidently wouldn't have been in his house sleeping near him...

A thought crossed my mind that I might have gotten myself into something I couldn't get out of, but it vanished when I saw Link laying out his mat on the other side of the room, away from the fire place. I buried my face into the book to cover the blush spreading on my cheeks from what I prayed was shame. _Only_ shame.

"You can sleep by the fire place. I don't get cold at night," He said as he climbed into his blankets.

"Oh... Thanks." I said, laying the book down next to the blankets as I climbed in them. We both said our goodnights and I fell to sleep quickly.

* * *

I was running through Hyrule Field, my bare feet feeling the grass and dirt shift with each sprint. It was a windy day, even for southern Hyrule, the most blustery region. My little eight year old legs took me to a nearby tree, where a golden bug latched safely onto the bark. I tried my best to keep quiet and sneak up on the beetle, but I was too slow and it flew into the wind with a flurry of leaves.

I heard people in the distance, laughing and singing, with horses and caravans. They came from far away, judging by their clothing, and it seemed I was with them. I wondered off through the Faron Woods, looking for something, or someone, to play with. There where flowers and bugs, but those grew so tiresome after a long time.

That's when I found the monkeys. They where young, like me, and just as playful. I played games with them and fooled around for a while, until the big monkey took my favorite bracelet. It was blurry and hard to make out what it looked like, but it was mine and he was stealing it.

I tried to chase the monkey through the brush, but my tiny legs just couldn't keep up with his sprinting. So I sat next to the Faron spring as the monkeys made off with my jewelry, crying my little heart out. I heard footsteps behind me, but I was too sad to care.

"Why are you crying?" the person asked, sounding about my age.

"Th-the monkeys… Took… Muh-my…" I tried to explain, but the words couldn't come out through my sobs.

"Took your what?" the voice asked. All I could do was point to my wrist. "Hmm… Come with me!" then a hand took my now bare wrist and led me through the woods, over a bridge, and past another spring. The hand belonged to a boy about my age, with very light brown, almost blonde, hair. He stopped in front of a small bush and moved the branches away to reveal a small wooden box.

"Since you lost your bracelet, you can have this one I made," he said to me, his face indistinct, but I could see a missing tooth. He took out a woven bracelet, with a simple wooden bead and put it on my wrist, "It isn't pretty, but it should do 'till I get yours from the monkeys."

I was ecstatic. I giggled and twirled the bracelet with my fingers. Then I remembered the people from before. They will be worried if I don't go back soon. So I grabbed on to the boy's hand tightly.

He looked at me funny and asked, "What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"No! I love it! I just don't know how to get back…" I looked at the ground, mad at myself.

"Oh, I'll take you back then!" he said brightly, then, still clenched to hand in hand, we both ran back to Hyrule Field. The people in the caravans were waiting for me, calling my name. I said goodbye to the boy and ran to the campsite. The others asked me about my new friend and I showed them my new, albeit temporary, bracelet.

I asked one of the women in the caravan if I could visit him the next day, and she smiled, bringing her bright golden eyes down at me and said, "Of course, my little queen." This, of course, made me a very happy "little queen" and I skipped to my caravan to rest for the next of adventures in the forest.

In the next few instances I was jumping from scenario to scenario of myself playing with the boy. One moment we were racing frogs, the next we were chasing monkeys, screaming and throwing stones. We ran through his village terrorizing chickens and swung on the ropes of an old bridge until an adult yelled at us. Then, in one prolonged moment, I saw the boy fall from a ledge after chasing a monkey, and he later showed me a scar he got on his hand. I cried and cried, but he told me it was okay, because he someday would be a knight, and this was the first of his many battle scars. Of course that instantly made me happier. I decided then that he would make the best knight ever.

The collection of instances seemed to make up several weeks, and in those weeks I grew to regard the boy as my best friend. One evening, after a long, fun filled day of taking turns riding the foal in the local ranch, we approached the camps of caravans with all the women who looked really familiar, but at the same time were strangers to me. They were quickly packing their things up, shouting, and I knew that meant I had to leave. I felt my heart drop for a moment, then I squeezed the boy's hand, not wanting to go.

"I have to go," I announced with a distant look on my face, "I don't know when I'll come back." The boy looked sad for a moment, then looked at me with a determined look in his eye.

"Okay, but when you come back, you have to give my bracelet back, or else."

"Or else what?" I quipped, aggravated he would threaten me at such a sad time.

"Or else I won't give you your stolen bracelet back. I haven't gotten it from the monkeys yet, but when I do I'll hold on to it until I see you again."

I giggled, my face brightening, and I nodded in acceptance of his deal. I looked at him and smiled widely. There was no way we couldn't meet again! What a silly thing to think.

"I guess I'll see you later then!" My mood was considerably happier than before.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged, "But, you know, you can let go now."

I was still holding his hand.


	5. Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 4

The next morning I was awakened by the voices of children. One particular voice rung above the rest, a little boy's voice I assume.

"Link wake up! It's already morning!" the boy sang. I opened my eyes slowly, and then rubbed the sleep away with my hands. I looked to where Link slept, and noticed he already got up for the day.

"Eager, aren't they…" I mumbled. I rose from the comfort of the cot, and smelled the simple breakfast Link made. He came down from a ladder and gave me a sheepish smile.

"I suppose…" he replied, even though I didn't direct the assumption to anyone in particular. He noticed me eying the food with half lidded eyes, "Oh, yes. Please help yourself."

I nodded and muttered a 'thank you' and ate whatever was left of the meager meal. Link had put away the cots and was heading outside to greet the children. But before he could open the door, a loud crack was heard from the area above the basement. Link looked curious, then concerned as he made his way over to the cause, then curse under his breath. A nail on the wall loosened its way out of the wall and sent the lantern hanging on it crashing to the ground.

"Oh, your lantern…" I mused, that must have been a vital tool for him. I would have to ask Coro if he could spare a lantern for Link…

Link rubbed the back of his head and gave a small grin, "These things happen," he said simply then swept the debris into a corner to handle later. I was becoming more and more jealous of the way he took everything in stride. By the time he was done I had finished my meal and we both went outside to greet the children.

"Ah! Link, today is your day off work right?" One child asked excitedly. He was around nine, maybe ten years old, and had short brown hair with a red bandana. He had a determined look in his youthful eyes and a grin that spelled trouble. He was with a young girl who looked about twelve, and a very young boy who was at most five.

"Link, guess what! Beth's mom is selling a slingshot at her store! A sling shot! How cool is that!" the boy enthused, waving his arms and making a big deal. "It's so cool!"

"Yes… I… I would… I want to see it…" the young child mumbled darkly, something unusual for someone his age.

"C'mon Beth, can't you just borrow it from your mom for a while? Please?" the boy begged.

"No way, Talo! You know I would get in trouble for that!" Beth, the young girl, replied fervently, "Why don't you just save up your allowances?"

"But our allowances are terrible…" the small boy murmured, envious of the girl. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on the small boy's face. His pout made his already round cheeks stick out more. We watched the trio bicker, amused, until another little boy with blonde hair and delicate blue eyes approached Link. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the two were related.

"Hi, Link… If you go see my mother, she should have the fishing rod I made you," the shy boy said quietly. He reminded me so much of Ralis, it was uncanny.

Link nodded and headed in the direction of the village, motioning me to follow. I complied, assuming the squabbling wasn't going to be resolved soon. He pointed out some of the buildings and told me which child lived there, to which I nodded and retained the information in case I needed it later. I doubted I would, but he was nice enough to give me tour I might as well make the most of it. Now that my head was clear I could finally get a good look at my hospitable host. He wore rather ornate clothes that looked comfortable, small silver earrings, simple sandals and arm wraps. I also noticed an odd birthmark on his left hand, which look very familiar... "This is the mayor's house." Link alerted me we were at our destination. He introduced me to the man, whose name was Bo, curtly bowed and ran off to do some errands for the villagers. 'This town is so small, why are they depending on him to do everything?' I silently criticized.

I spoke with the mayor about my search for the fabled Hero, but the bulky man just gave a chortle and waved off the thought, "Those are just stories, Miss! If such a hero existed we would have no need for soldiers and guards!"

"I suppose you're right.." I replied, but something was telling me that he wasn't telling me the whole story. "Have you heard anything about the missing zora prince? My people are worried sick about him."

"No, I'm afraid not, miss," he replied, as I suspected he would. Ordon is pretty well cut off from the rest of the country, so any sort of news that reached the town really had to be big to make it through Faron woods.

I thanked the man for the time and made my way to the ranch to get Bora. She was eager to see me, pushing her head against my stomach affectionately. I took her by the reigns, gave a small wave to the rancher, and guided her through the village. I saw Link talking to a very pregnant woman, strongly resembling the shy blonde boy from before. She was holding a woven cradle and had a thankful smile on her face, and Link, watching her carefully so she wouldn't fall, walked her back to her house. She gave Link the fishing rod the boy from before mentioned, and once he saw me he walked towards me. I noticed while he did the task he never scowled or huffed, as some of the guards in the domain tended to do at times. 'They could learn a thing or two from this country boy...'

"Your horse looks happy," he observed, patting Bora's mane. She huffed in approval and I let go of her reigns, letting her graze as she pleased.

"I should hope so; she has been through a lot recently," I drawled, having to reminding myself of the task at hand. I felt my head, checking the tender place that had once been a gash. The pain was dull and throbbing, but, thankfully, it was nothing unbearable. Link looked at me expectantly, and I gave a small smile of reassurance. "Thank you so much for your hospitality, but I have one more favor to ask," I felt silly at what I was about to ask, but I felt it was necessary. Hopefully he'd give me a more helpful (and less condescending) answer than the mayor did.

"Yes, of course," Link replied. It was still surprising the amount of kindness he had shown me, a complete stranger. I was genuinely grateful for everything he had done.

"Can you tell me what you know about the Hero of Time? I know I seem strange for asking about the old legends, but please humor me," I inquired, running my fingers through my hair, signifying my anxiousness.

"I was named after the Hero. They said I resembled him," he recalled, his face telling me he was deep in thought. "I don't know much more." I wondered who "they" was but I didn't press any further.

This information didn't help me much, but I thanked him nonetheless. I said a few parting words and said he could write me should he ever find any more details about the elusive Hero. To my further surprise, he gave me a few provisions for my journey, and I once again thanked the man. I seemed to be doing that an awful lot. 'I don't think I've ever been so indebted to anyone besides my mother...' I whistled for Bora and mounted her, trotting towards Link's house where the children were. I waved goodbye to the energetic kids and told them to tell Ilia my thanks. I really didn't want to encounter her at the moment. She was kind, but something about her irked me. 'Maybe I should stop being such a shrew.' I thought and laughed. With a flick of my wrist and a short shout, Bora took off in a sprint.

We passed the Ordon Spring, crossed the bridge and dashed into Faron Woods. I wasn't in such a rush to get to Hyrule Field that I fail to notice the flocks of birds flying in the opposite direction, which I dismissed as them flying from the storm, but I did miss the withering plants and the strange black creatures climbing on the trees. We made it to Coro's shack, but he was not at the fire outside so I rushed past without a thought. It wasn't until I made it to Hyrule Field that I started to notice the disturbing scene. The ground was black and the sky was a sickly orange. The very soil seemed to dematerialize towards the sky and Moblins and other dark creatures dotted the field. The sight startled me and shook me so badly all my senses dulled. I could hear screeching of a beast and the sound of something moving, but it never registered as a threat. Everything was wrong, as if the very planet turned inside out. The screeching became louder and eventually caught my attention. I turned towards the source, vaguely alert, and saw a black and shadowy beast loping my general direction. It screeched one last time, causing Bora to become so frightened she reared back, knocking me off of her, and ran full speed towards Ordon. The combination of my previous wound, the loss of breath from the fall and the screeching sent me into sensory overload, causing my head to pound and my ears to ring. I couldn't even register what was happening, as if I was living a nightmare.

The next thing I knew, I no longer existed.


	6. Coronation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I would like to apologize for not updating this story, for high school has been quite a hassle. I promise I will start writing again when I have more creative juices in me.

Chapter 5

I found myself in the small body again, only this time I was in a spectacular hall with music and dancing all around me. It seemed that a banquet was being held in this place. This palace seemed so familiar, but I knew I'd never seen it before. All the people in attendance were women, garbed in silk and jewels, and they all beamed with pride at me. Well, I assumed it was me.

I looked down at myself, to find myself also garbed in a silky robe, with jewels sewn into the elaborate patterns, my bangle, for to big for my ankles, chiming with every step. I saw light glinting off of something to the floor, and touched my head to see what it is. I removed a small tiara from my tiny head, solid gold with a single orange rupee encrusted in the front. A woman, I assumed a guard, placed her weapon down and grabbed the tiara and smoothly placed it securely in my hair. I looked up at her and gave her a childish grin, to which she replied with a wink.

I strolled to a large arched doorway to a terrace, adorned with lovely desert blooms and silk curtains, and stared into the sun setting over the vast sand dunes. The more I watched the more relaxed I felt with these new surroundings. I felt at home.

"You shouldn't stare at the Sun too long, Princess," an anonymous female voice laughed, "The Moon will get jealous and eat you."

"I doubt the Moon will be jealous, Ghazala. After all, she is so easy to behold in the night, while the shy Sun shines brightly to burn all eyes that gaze at her," another voice.

"You are both silly," my child-like voice rang, against my volition, "They are just shiny stones floating in the sky. They have no feeling."

"How grim! Nabooru really should have taught you how to have fun, Princess."

I then understood this was another dream, or a memory, rather. It all made sense now but I knew the moment I woke from this I would forget it all.

"Don't speak ill of her. After all she is one who is destined to keep the King locked aw-" a new voice.

"Don't you dare call that Swine king!" the loudest voice of them all, "He no longer holds that title. No man ever shall," the owner of the voice, with piercing blue eyes identical to mine walked on the terrace. Her strong, commanding voice caught the whole room's attention. "Our tribe has made the mistake of entrusting our lives in the hands of a filthy man. Never again! The sage Nabooru reclaimed the crown and gave it to her most trusted guard, earning her title as Queen." The woman faces the setting sun, her crown glistening, "Years passed and now the title belongs to me. The tradition of one boy being born every one hundred years has vanished. Even the Hero of Time wouldn't dare step foot in the fortress he was once welcomed to!" the Queen turned around to me with a playful and loving look on her face.

"And now, you have all joined here for the coronation of my dear daughter Sekhmet," she took my small hands and led me to the throne in the grand hall. She picked me up and sat me in the throne, removing my tiara and placing it on a pedestal next to the throne. "Long has the tradition been to crown the King at the age of ten. But now, with the Reign of Women, we now crown our Queens at age ten," She removed her crown and placed it on my head, "I now present you, your new Queen! All hail Queen Sekhmet!"

The women all cheered, "Long reign Queen Sekhmet!"


	7. Escape

**Author's Note:** I'm going pretty in depth for this chapter, but not without reason. I need the little twilight demon, whom I refer to as "the girl" and "the imp" as her name isn't revealed for a while, familiar with Link and Sehkmet's strengths and weaknesses. It might seem pretty boring but it'll pick up I swear. I also want you guys to know how many sexual innuendo's I painstakingly avoided while writing this.

Chapter 6

I came to what I assumed to be many hours later. Though for all I knew it could have been mere minutes. The only things I knew for sure were that I was in a cold, wet place, and I was rather uncomfortable. I experimentally opened my eyes, only to wish I hadn't. I found myself in a very dark stone cellar near some crates, my right leg chained to an iron peg in middle of the room. I felt the sudden urge to growl a stream of obscenities, but I suppressed the urge, telling myself, 'That isn't very princess-like.' Thought at this point in my life, with all the tragedies consecutively happening, and all the time I've spent unconscious, the princess-like thing was getting old, fast.

I tugged at the chain, deluding myself into thinking that it would just rip out of the wall and I could saunter my way out of there. Of course it didn't budge. Blowing my bangs out of my face, I sat cross-legged and rested my face in my hands. I had to think of a way to get out of here. 'I guess my best plan is to wait for someone-or something- to patrol. Though something tells me playing dead won't strike much interest in my captors.' I thought grimly and I glanced over a couple skeletons in the neighboring cell.

Then my eyes fell on something strange moving in the cell with the bones of previous captives. I looked big, furry, and, to my relief, chained to the middle of the room.

I was so focused on trying to identify the furry mass that I jumped when it started moving. It stood up to reveal itself as a grey wolf with white markings. The wolf was really disoriented at first, but soon realized where it was and started to run towards the bars, only to be yanked by the chain. It started biting at the chain, trying to free itself as I had tried moments before, when something in its cell caught his attention. I followed the wolf's gaze to find… well what can only be described as an imp. It was small with a feminine figure, black and blue in skin color, with some sort of helmet and bright red hair flowing . It gave a rather ominous smirk and jumped in from of the wolf, right in from of my cell.

The wolf started growling, to which the imp responded, "Oh! Aren't you scary!" in an odd voice, "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me? Well that's too bad… I was going to help you if you were nice!" This made the wolf back down his defenses, which made the imp more boastful. With a giggle she said, "That's much better! You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?"

"Human?" I thought out loud, which I immediately regretted. The imp turned her attentions toward me and smirked.

"Oh! You can see him? Well isn't this a surprise! Though I must agree, he isn't really human anymore! He's a _beast_! Tee hee!" she giggled and jumped back as the wolf growled and lunged at her with its fangs. "There, there. You need to be a good boy and calm down, no need to bite!"

I decided this sarcastic little imp was my best bet out of there, so I tried speaking to her. "Where are we?" I started with. I could make a better assessment of the situation if I could figure out where the hell I was.

"I don't see why I should help _you_, but since you'll be here until you die, you might as well know!" the imp laughed at me, then turned back to the wolf and somehow broke his chain. She then dematerialized through the bars and floated between the wolf and my cells. She then said to the wolf, "If you can get to this side of the cell, maybe I'll tell you both!" The imp waved to the wolf and stretched her small arms while yawning, giving off the vibe that she didn't care either way what happened to us. The wolf lowered his head to the ground and sniffed the perimeter of the cell, then bashed his head against some crates next to the bars. The wolf then dug under the bars, a hole the crate where used to cover up then he walked over to my cell slowly, a part of the chain still attached to his front left leg. Before I could get a good look at the wolf, we heard giggling down the hall, suggesting the wolf should follow her. So much for that plan…

The wolf turned his attention back to me and snuck his nose through the bars and looked at me as if he recognized me. I inched closer and brought my hand closer to his face, hesitated, then stroked the patterned fur on the top of his head, trying to figure out why the wolf looked so familiar. His eyes were the most familiar. They were a lovely shade of blue and were determined, yet friendly. I was so trapped in my thoughts, that when the wolf gave a whine he startled me, which made him wag his tail. He twitched his ears and it brought my attention to the little silver hoop earrings on his ears. 'A wolf wearing earrings? That imp said he was actually human…' Then it hit me. "You're that boy from Ordon! Link!" The wolf gave a bark and wagged his tail harder, telling me I was correct. I wasn't sure how that boy was now before me as a big dog, but I wasn't about to complain. I now had somebody familiar, though in a different form, and it was enough to calm my nerves a bit. Of course that was very short lived when the imp suddenly materialized and fell on Link's back, causing him to buck and kick, trying to get the strange little creature off him.

"Hmph! I guess you're not completely stupid after all!" Link stopped trying to throw her off when she started talking again, "Listen, I like you. So I think I'll get you _and _your girlfriend out of here." Had the circumstances been different, I would have blushed at the "girlfriend" comment. But at that moment I had better things to worry about. The Imp then pulled on Link's ear and said in a dark voice, "But in exchange for my help, you have to do EXACTLY as I say! I'm feeling very generous right now, so don't do anything to make me change my mind!" The imp turned and put her hands together, creating an orb of some dark substance and released it at the shackle on my ankle. Fortunately the boot I was wearing took most of the blow, but I still felt a bit of heat from the small force. I would hate to be on the receiving end of a full blown attack from this little imp. She was about to open the cell door for me, but I decided to do it myself. I could see the hinges on the door were pretty rusty, so I quickly backed up and ran towards the bars. I jumped at the last moment and landed my feet on two of the bars, kicking forward for all I had in me. The cell door flew forward with a clang on the bars of the opposite cell Link was just in. The startled wolf barely had time to jump out of the way and the door flew past, so I gave him an apologetic look. I stood up, aggression successfully taken out on the door, and let out all the breath I didn't know I was holding. Link gave me a strange look, but the imp simply laughed. "I like her too! This should be fun!"

"I'm glad you think so…" I muttered under my breath. Link heard me and gave a grunt of agreement, and the imp ignored me, too busy giggling.

She snapped her head towards me and smiled. "So you both have to listen to my every word. Are we all clear? Good. Now, come on! Get moving!" she shouted as she dug her small heels into Link's sides like you would a horse, to which he gave a growl of disapproval to. She led Link into the cell next to his, which was conveniently open, that had an even more convenient chain hanging from the ceiling, which Link lunged for and grabbed onto with his jaws. The chain shifted and then sank down with Link's weight, lifting some bars that opened into a small tunnel. 'This must be some sort of escape route for the guards or something…' I thought. Why else would they have such an easy way to escape in the dungeon?

I had to duck my head a bit to get through the tunnel, which slowed me down as I had to bend my neck at an odd angle to see where I was going. The imp turned and told me to hurry up, but she was smiling so I could tell she wasn't too upset at the setback. We finally made it to the end of the tunnel and dropped into an even lovelier scene. A sewer. The stench made me queasy, so I couldn't imagine how Link's now very sensitive nose was reacting. I didn't have time to complain about the smell, as there was now a spear pointed at my chest.

"St-stop there! Monster!" The man, a guard I presume, huffed in exhaustion as he rattled in his armor. He was so terrified he couldn't hold the spear straight.

"Drop your weapon. I'm not the enemy," I said calmly, not suppressing the glare I was giving him. I diffidently wasn't feeling the benevolent princess thing at that moment.

I look towards Link, who was growling at the soldier, and the imp who was getting quite a few laughs at my expense. Link barked at the man so loudly that it made my still injured head pound. I pressed my hand to my forehead and watched as the soldier fainted from fear. The imp thought that this was simply hilarious, while Link walked over to the soldier and took his spear. He then jerked his head and threw the spear to me. I then realized what he was doing; while he had fangs and claws, I was generally defenseless against whatever enemy lies ahead of us. Hand to hand combat was not my forte, so I would be dead weight if I couldn't defend myself. I turned my attention back to the man and checked his neck for a pulse in case Link's bark gave him a heart attack. I felt faint beating under my fingers and stood up, "He's still alive, but I think he'll be out for a while. This whole thing must me traumatizing."

"Hah! He might not be able to see the mutt but he sure can hear him!" The girl said after a fit of giggles. "That was a soldier's spirit. There are lots of other spirits roaming around here, you know. Maybe you better hide yourself better from them," The little demon said with a smirk.

"I'll try. Is there anything you can do to incapacitate them without scaring them to death?" I asked. I didn't want to kill anybody if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

The girl brought a finger to her chin, thinking. Then after a drawn out pause she said with a big smirk, "Nope!"

"Then let's continue and hope there aren't more of those spirits in our path," I said as I walked ahead, thoroughly irked. We progressed through the sewers quietly as possible, so we didn't alert any lurking beasts crawling about. Something crawling below me in the waterway (now barren of any water) caught my attention, causing me to trip on a protruding brick. I yelped in pain, and jerked in shock when I saw a huge bat-like creature headed straight for my face. I grabbed for my spear, ready to fight off the beast, when Link lunged for it and grabbed it in his mouth, crunching it with his jaws. I shuddered at the sound, but shook it off and got up. "Thanks," I told him, "I seem to be telling you that more and more lately."

Link nodded and jumped into the waterway, killing some more of the beasts. There were spiked plates on the ground where we were supposed to head, making it impossible to pass on foot. I looked to my left and saw a floodgate with a chain hanging from the ceiling, like the one in the cell we came through. "Link, come back up here. I have an idea," I called to him, not bothering to be quiet. I leapt to the walkway on the other side, slashing through some of the bats on the way, and tugged hard on the chain, lifting the floodgate. Water (clear to my delight) came rushing in filling the once dry waterways, making the next area accessible. I happily jumped in the water and swam over the spikes, happy to have the feeling of water back against my skin. The sewer wasn't the most glamorous place to be, but the water was rather clean, and nothing compared to rushing through the water. I jumped from the water to the top of the short wall separating us from the way out and turned around, to find Link struggling to swim over. Clearly not accustomed to swimming with four legs, I decided to help him out. I put down my spear and jumped back in, quickly swimming over. As I wrapped one arm around his furry body and used the other one to stabilize me, I guided him to the wall where he quickly climbed up and shook the water from his fur.

Link looked at me and then brought his eyes to another guard spirit up ahead, scared to death like the last one. I decided to play it safe and slip back into the water ahead of me and quietly swim my way around the soldier. Link followed near by, not bothering to hide from the soldier. I swam in front of a big area blocked off by bars, and when Link walked up the girl dematerialized and flew through the bars like she did before and said, "This way! Over here! I'll be waiting for you but you'll have to help yourself for a change!" she giggled then waved her "hair" which served her as a hand, urging us to hurry up.

I sunk back into the water and noticed a hole in the wall near the bottom. I swam towards it and decided it couldn't hurt to check it out. It was a tight squeeze, but I managed to slip my way through to the other side, where I was greeted by a few skulls and a soldier spirit. I had left my weapon in the waterway to fit through, which I was beginning to regret. The man didn't seem to notice me, as he was to busy cowering in the corner. 'Maybe I can swipe his weapon without him noticing…' I thought. Normally I would have scolded myself for thinking of theft (which for some reason is what my mind usually turns to), but the situation called for it so I didn't have time to have a moral debate with myself. I sunk low to the ground and started slinking my way towards the man. As I got closer I realized that the man didn't have a weapon, but before I could turn the other direction and run toward the waiting (and smirking) imp, loud barking made the soldier's head snap up and look at me, crouched in a rather threatening pose. He yelled and ran toward me, flinging his arms blindly in his panic. I didn't see any way of resolving the situation without knocking the man unconscious, so I grabbed one of the man's shoulders and quickly rammed my knee into his stomach, causing him to cough and roll off of me onto the ground.

"Sorry…" I mumbled to the man, now down for the count. Out of some evil instinct I couldn't stop myself from; I searched the man and, to my defense, found a dagger. I quietly rejoiced, as a dagger was much more convenient than a big spear. All while this was going on Link was still barking at something. So I slid the sheath of the dagger in my belt and ran towards the imp and the upset wolf.

"See? She's okay now quit your whining," the girl snapped at Link, who looked rather surprised to see me.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him, though I wasn't really expecting an answer.

"You didn't back up. I guess he thought you drowned," the girl drawled, becoming quite bored with the situation.

"I don't drown," I said simply, getting confused looks from the two, "I'll explain later. Link you need to drain the water and crawl through the hole over here," I explained pointing to the wall I swam through. Link nodded and ran off in the opposite direction. After a few echoed growls and barks, the water receded revealing the hole to dry air, which Link quickly crawled through. The little imp reclaimed her spot on Link's back and urged him forward to the next room. It consisted of a long stair case with many parts missing, and lengths of rope to make up for the lack of said parts. Link ran up the stairs and leaped across a gap in the stairs, only to end up in the water at the bottom of the staircase with a part of the stairs crumbling beneath him.

"Ugh… What are you doing?" the girl groaned at Link. He gave her a look of annoyance, but went back up the stairs again. As he approached the now even larger gap in the stairs, Link paused, not sure if he could make the jump. "I guess I have to do EVERYTHING for you…" she drawled. She floated towards the area Link needed to jump to and he focused on the jump. While he was being harassed by the demon, I jumped past the both of them and took out some of the bats with my handy new weapon. I continued running up the stair case, jumping across and over obstacles until I got to the first rope, leading to the opposite side of the room. I looked down and saw Link lunge for the imp, as she effectively guided him over the more challenging obstacles. Link soon joined me by the rope and started across it without hesitating.

I on the other hand was a bit more tentative. I experimentally put my foot on the rope then placed my other foot in front of the first, but I made the dangerous mistake of looking down. I pushed myself back to the staircase behind me, falling on my rear next to some skulls. I called out to Link, "I'm not sure if I can do this…" I heard the girl growl and mutter something along the lines of 'Go get the wench' with some expletives thrown in there for good measure. Link crossed the rope with ease a second time and turned around looking over his shoulder at me. Nodding towards his back he looked at me with expecting eyes. Taking the hint, I awkwardly climbed on his back. Riding a wolf is very different from riding a horse. I had to lean all the way forward, almost lying on my stomach, to distribute my weight evenly on Link's back. Not slowed by the extra weight, he made quick work of crossing the rope to the other side.

Our impish friend was a bit irked that I took her perch on Link's back, but quickly got over it. She guided Link over some rather large gaps, while I buried my face in Link's fur. I tend to get queasy at large heights when I'm not in control of the situation. If it was me jumping the gaps I would have been fine in my own ability, but with Link in control of both of us, if he fell I fell. And the thought alone made me uneasy. Sensing I was apprehensive, Link turned his head and gave me a reassuring look. Link walked to the top of the stairs to an open area with a large closed door at the bottom and an identical large door at the top of the room. Then the girl caught out attention.

"If you two don't need me, I'll be at the exit at the top. Try not to fall!" she giggled and flew up beyond our sight.

"Troublesome imp…" I muttered, while Link gave a huff in agreement. There was a series of rather small ledges leading up to the door, so I pointed out the best way to get up there. A few of the bats attacked and Link sailed towards them grabbing one in his mouth and biting down, making a disgusting _crunch_ while snapping its spine. I made short work of stabbing the remaining bats, and Link quickly jumped up the ledges I pointed out before. He jumped up in front of the door and the imp made her way outside. "Nice job," I said to the wolf, who in response wagged his tail. It was hard to imagine this fearsome beast to be the same hospitable boy from the small southern village. I was starting to detach his image from the wolf I was riding, so I remedied that quickly. If I didn't I would probably start treating him like an actual dog, which would lead to embarrassing conversation should he ever return to his original form.

When we walked out the door the girl stretched and sighed, "So, we were finally able to get out. And look at the sky! Isn't the black cloud of twilight looking beautiful today?" I really had to disagree, the sky looked… unhealthy. Like the world grew sick and changed color. The ground was dematerializing like outside Faron woods, and the sky was orange and yellow, like when the sun sets. Though, this scene didn't really scream romance. "Do you two know where this is? You _still _don't know?" she giggled and continued, "Look, there's someone I want to introduce you to… but I'll need you to go to that tower to do it!" She pointed to a very large tower near the one we were at. It wasn't until then that I realized how high up we were. I clenched my hands into Link's fur, to which he looked at me in curiosity. He saw the nervous look on my face and his expression softened. He gave a small whine to show sympathy and turned his head back to the path ahead of us.

I saw a soldier spirit up ahead and told Link to be wary of it. Link walked up to the spirit and the man whipped around, searching frantically for something. "Wh-who's there? What… What are these monstrous birds? What in the world is happening here? Ah, our poor Hyrule Castle!" the man exclaimed.

'I thought this looked familiar…' I mused. I had visited the castle before for political meetings and whatnot, but I'd never seen it from above like this. Another thing was nagging at me, "Why didn't he see me?" I whispered, more to Link than the girl, but I assumed the answer would come from her.

"I guess you blend in well with the mutt," She thought aloud, "Tee hee! That guy had no idea you were there!"

This was a very good turn of events in my book. While I was a bit uncomfortable not being able to run across the roof myself, it was better than beating up every soldier I came across. Assaulting the royal guards might bite me in the rear later on. So I decided to swallow my uneasiness and lower my head close to Link's. I noticed that he smelled like his house, a mixture of trees and leather, and another smell I couldn't put my finger on, but it was comforting nonetheless. I relaxed into his warm fur and let him dash across the roof, the wind whipping through my hair. There was some screeching and growling from Link as he lunged from one enemy to another, but I blocked it out as his warmth kept me from going insane. My head was throbbing pretty badly from all the noise and jarring I've endured, so I tried my best to ignore the noise and focus on keeping control of myself. The imp girl floated ahead of us and guided Link into the tower, which had a stairway that led to a room with the door slightly opened. I climbed off of Link, immediately missing the warmth, and slowly pushed the door open. Link walked ahead of me, with the girl taking residence on his back once again. There was a cloaked figure in the window, looking rather ominous, standing with their back toward us. Link began growling at the figure, and I reached for the hilt of my knife, in case the figure decided to attack. The figure turns around to be revealed as a Hylian female, which made Link stop growling. I would tease him about that later when I got the chance, but at that moment I assumed he was relieved it wasn't some shadow beast like before.

Link walked towards the woman and it suddenly occurred to me where I was and who this cloaked figure was, but I kept my mouth shut in case she wanted her identity to be confidential. The imp girl smirked and rolled her eyes as Link approached the cloaked figure. The figure immediately recognized the imp and addressed her, "…Midna?"

'So that's her name…' it certainly was better than "imp girl," though it suited her better. "Eee hee! You remembered my name? What an honor for me…" Midna said with the usual smirk on her face.

"So, this is the one for whom you were searching…" The cloaked woman looked at Link then looked at me. Recognition spread on the girl's face, but she remained silent and continued with her conversation with Midna.

"He's not exactly what I had in mind, but… I guess he'll do," Midna motioned her head towards me and said, "She's just a tagalong. She's not completely useless, so I kept her around.

The woman knelt down in from of Link and stared intently into his eyes. She then glanced down at the shackle around his leg, "…You were imprisoned?" She looked away and apologized, "I am sorry." She was putting on the calloused front I've had to put on myself many times. It's all a part of being royalty; you can't ever show too much weakness.

Midna took advantage of the woman's apology and decided to make her feel even worse if she could, "Poor thing, he has no idea where this is or what happened… So, don't you think you should explain to us what you've managed to do? You owe these two that much… Twilight Princess!" The title struck me for some reason.

The girl looked down, then back up at Link and said, "Listen carefully… This was once the where the power of the gods was said to slumber. This was once the kingdom of Hyrule." I gasped at this new development.

"_Used_ to be..? What happened? Are my people safe?" I couldn't hold my tongue this time. This girl knew what was happening to the world my people lived in and I needed answers right then.

"Hush!" Midna snapped at me, letting the woman continue.

"But that kingdom has been transformed by the king that rules the twilight… It has been turned into a world of shadows, ruled by creatures who shun the light…" The girl then told the story of how this castle was her home, and how it was attacked by the King of Twilight. He gave her the choice to either forfeit her kingdom to the man or have everyone in it die. Hopeless against the power of the King, she surrendered to him, giving the kingdom to him. "Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without light, the people became as spirits. Within the twilight, they live on. Unaware that they have passed into spirit forms… All the people know now is fear… fear of a nameless evil…" The woman turned back around to face us again, now speaking with a more distant tone than before, "The kingdom succumbed to twilight… But I remained its princess." The woman then removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her face. Link looked at her in surprise, almost knocking Midna off his back. The woman was no older than me, with light brunette hair and blue-grey eyes with a very sad look in them. This was the same girl I played with in the courtyard while mother spoke with the king. 'She's changed so much…'

"I am Zelda."


	8. Tears and Bugs

**Author's Note: **Just FYI I'm using the Gamecube version of Hyrule (the right one imo) where Death Mountain is on the east and the Gerudo Desert is on the west. So Link is left handed. No arguments. Also, I'm talking creative liberty with some of Link's back story, so forgive me. Also, they never mention a "hero of time" in the game, so I pulled some stuff out of my ass. I'm too lazy to go back and edit.

Chapter 7

I was now standing back in the Ordon spring, trying to control the nausea that came over me as Midna teleported us there. Link appeared to be faring better, but he was a bit confused. It seems that even though the area isn't covered in twilight yet, he still remained a wolf.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention one thing…" Midna's voice echoed around the spring. Link circled to try and find where she was, but to no avail, "Though you may have left the darkened realm, you haven't transformed back to your former self… and you won't anytime soon!" I could hear the smugness in her voice. I scowled and sat in the shallow water of the spring. "Now why could that be?" She giggled one last time and her voice disappeared with a, "See you later!"

I sighed in annoyance and looked at my reflection in the water. I looked positively awful. My hair was tangled and dirty, my skin was grimy and my clothes were torn. Before I was imprisoned they were an outfit of a beautiful pale pink zora tunic over white, but now they were rags dyed brown and red from a mixture of dirt and blood. Luckily my leather belt with my knife and money stayed in tact, but my boots didn't fare too well after Midna's initial assault on the right one. I removed both them and tossed them to the side of the spring, resting my feet in the spring. Link walked over to me and flopped down in the water, the dirt from his fur turning the water closest to him brown. I fell down to my back in the water and ran my hands through my hair, knocking out some of the grime and dried blood. I looked up at the twilight portal that brought us here and gave it a glare. 'Damn twilight. My brother's out there in the middle of it and I can't do anything…' I looked to my left and saw Link doing the same thing, paws in the air, which brought my mood up a bit. I couldn't help but chuckle at the rather silly sight. Link stood back up and looked intently in my eyes. I looked back and felt tears fall across my cheeks.

"I'm fine. Just not my best day, you know?" I told him, stroking the left side of his face. He moved his face into my hand and gave a small whine. I chuckled, removing my hand and told him, "You're making it awfully hard for me to remember that you're actually human." He gave me the closest thing to a sheepish smile a wolf could give and stood, walking over to the entrance of the pond.

As Link walked past the entrance we heard Midna's voice again, "So, um, what next?" she giggled and a silhouette of her body came from Link's shadow, surprising both of us. "Did you think I'd disappeared? Listen, there's another thing I forgot to tell you… Don't think you can just run off and save your friends, because you can't. Just beyond the bridge, the land is covered in twilight. Last time, a shadow beast pulled you through the curtain of twilight…" Midna was speaking directly to Link this time, "But if you want to go that way this time, you'll need cooperation of someone _from_ the twilight… Like me!" She turned her back to us and moved her shadowy arms behind her head in her usual aloof pose, "So you two really have no choice but to do what I say."

Something wasn't adding up. "How did I make it through the curtain? I wasn't attacked until after I was in the darkened realm…" I really hoped that the imp could help me for once.

"Tee hee hee! You have no IDEA what you are, do you?" Midna inquired, clearly amused at my ignorance, "This is going to be so much fun!" She turned to face us and said, "To save your brother and your friends and all that… Well it all depends on your actions…Because you can never trust words you know," She gave Link a smirk, "Right now I want a sword and shield that suit me. You understand me, don't you? So, what do you plan to do? While you're here dawdling, the twilight expands. Come on! Hurry it up!" To my dismay, Midna was right. The sky was rapidly getting darker, faster than any nightfall I'd ever seen. "As for you, princess, go get yourself cleaned up. You're disgusting. The mutt here can take care of things. You'll get in the way." She didn't leave much room for argument, so I looked at Link and he gave me a curt nod that said he could handle things.

Link and I ran towards the village, to be greeted by some moblins. I never got to pay the one that clubbed me back, so I wasn't about to shy away from beating the tar out of these jerks. Link lunged for one, knocking it over, while the other two moblins charged at me. I grabbed one's arm, pulling it towards me, and rammed my knife into its stomach. I dropped its writhing body down and quickly slit the other's throat. However, instead of regular moblin blood, a dark green liquid, they bled a black inky substance. Before I could take a better look, they vanished in a cloud of black smoke, like the twilit creatures did in the castle.

"Obviously Bulbin teamed up with the Twilight King," I mused aloud. By this time we were standing in front of Link's house. I turned to him and asked, "Do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes? Something tells me I should stay outside the village while you go weapon hunting." Link barked back, which I understood as a yes. I haven't spent that much time with him, wolf or human, but I could tell a "yes" bark from a "no" bark. If he meant "no" he would have whined a bit more. It felt odd, talking to a wolf and understanding his barks, but I assured myself that I'd be facing more and more oddities in the next few weeks.

I climbed up the ladder to Link's house and opened the door to the main room. As I stepped inside I immediately relaxed as the scent of his home reached my nose. I noticed he hadn't put away my blankets from before, so I rolled my cot up and put it near the fireplace, now fireless. I started a fire and put some water on to warm up while I searched for a cloth and soap to wash myself with. It wasn't going to be a full blown bath, but I would be cleaner than before. I locked the door and stripped down to my undergarments, then dipped the cloth into the barrel of hot water I'd prepared. The water burned at first, turning my skin a little red, but I soon relaxed at the scent of the soap. It wasn't very strong smelling, but it did have the distinct scent of pine. I heard a squirrel outside chattering away rather loudly, but I ignored it and continued my "bath." When I felt myself clean enough, not forgetting to wash my hair, (which was a difficult process at first) I dried myself off and trekked through the house to find some clothes. There was an armoire on the opposite side of the fireplace, which I assumed Link kept his clothes in. I opened it and searched for something that would fit me. Most of Link's clothes were leather, which isn't the most flexible material, and my body shape was significantly different than Link's…

After some searching I found a green undershirt shirt and a short brown vest with light brown burlap pants similar to what he was wearing last time I saw him(as a human that is.) The burlap itched at first, but I soon got over it. When I finished getting dressed I realized how hungry I was. I turned to his "kitchen" which was really just a wall adjacent to the fireplace. I rummaged through the various pots and bowls he had on a shelf and finally found a loaf of bread and some cheese. "Can someone really survive on this?" I thought aloud, "Maybe I'm just spoiled." It's not like I had four course gourmet meal everyday, but the shelves in my little nook of the Water Temple were always well stocked. Usually with fish, but I would keep poultry or other meat if it was available.

I decided Link might be hungry too, so I saved some bread for him in a cloth which I put into one of my belt pockets. I'm sure that's not regularly on a wolf's diet, but he wasn't regularly a wolf. Before I headed out the door, I realized I wasn't wearing any shoes, so I headed back to Link's closet and looked for the smallest pair of shoes I could find. I had to dig under the pile of clothes to find some shoes, but my searching was not in vain, as I found some rather old sandals that looked much too small for Link but just big enough for me to fit in them comfortably. As I picked up the shoes, I noticed something glint in the light from the fireplace in the corner of the closet. I reached for it and held it in the light, examining it. It was a small silver bracelet with tiny jeweled beads woven into the silver chords. It's most noticeable feature was a small orange circular piece with a strange, yet familiar symbol on it. It looked rather feminine, so I didn't think it was Link's. 'Maybe it's a gift for that Ilia girl?' I thought, but the bracelet looked rather old. It had dirt and dust in between the chords and gems and the circular bead looked a bit corroded. 'It looks so familiar…' Before I could stop myself, I put the piece of jewelry in my pocket and headed outside, grabbing my dagger on the way out. 'I'm not stealing it. I'm going to ask Link about it when he gets his old self back…' I assured myself. Something about the thing was so familiar, like I'd seen it recently.

I sat on Link's porch, dangling my feet over the side, trying to think of where I might have seen the bracelet before. 'Now that I think about it, this town looks rather familiar too. But I don't remember travelling here before yesterday.' But before I could think any further, a loud howl ripped me from my thoughts, making me jump. I climbed down from the house and waited for something to happen. Not the best plan, but it was the best I had at the time. A few minutes later, Link came dashing towards me with a shield and sword strapped to his back. He gave me a quick bark and rushed past me and his house to the woods. Not missing the hint, I ran after him, mentally noting how much faster I moved without my heavy clothes from before. Before we made it past the spring, a voice called out to us, "Wait… Come… to my spring…" Link was quick to obey, but I was a bit more skeptical. I stood at the entrance when the voice spoke again as Link approached the center of the spring, "You have… been transformed… by the power… of shadow…" The voice sounded weak and spoke with long pauses. "Come... to me…" Then, from thin air, pillars of black rock fell around Link and an impenetrable wall of twilight formed. The voice spoke again in a more urgent tone, "Beware… A shadow being… It approaches…"

Above Link, a red portal appeared and spat out a dark twilit creature, the same kind that attacked me while I was riding Bora. Link didn't notice it at first, so the beast went in for an attack.

"Link, watch out!" I yelled from behind the wall, helpless. Link snapped around and backed up in surprise at the gruesome creature, but quickly recovered and lunged at its neck, repeatedly biting it. The beast collapsed, defeated, and disappeared into flecks of twilight. The creature's remains floated above to the portal and changed it from red to blue, like the one Midna transported us through. I quickly ran to Link, asking, "Are you okay?" he looked at me and gave a quick nod, and the spring got very dark. The stone pillars started glowing with an ornate pattern and the water glowed bright. A ball of light floated from the water and turned into a large Ordon goat, shining a bright white with its one large circular horn.

The goat started talking, "O brave youth… I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona." The spirit explained. The ball of light that emerged from the water was now resting in Ordona's horn. "The black beast you slew was a shadow beast. It had come to seize the power of light I wield." The spirit went on to explain that all the other light spirits have had their light stolen by the twilight beasts, reducing the kingdom to a netherworld of darkness. It continued by saying that the darkness will not stop at Hyrule, and will continue until the king of twilight rules the entire world. "To save this land from the king of twilight, the lost light must be recovered. There is but one who can revive them and redeem this land… You." The spirit was obviously talking to Link, "You still have not discovered your true power… Those transformed by twilight usually can not recover their original forms… Unless… If you were to return to Faron Woods where you were first transformed... If you were to revive the light spirit… There, by the power of the light spirit, you may find the means to regain your other state of being…" The spirit turned its attention to me. "You… are also not aware of your true power… You are a crucial part of winning this war against twilight… but you don't know who you are…" the spirit took a lengthy pause and continued, "Are you willing to aid this one in his quest to restore the light to the land… or are you going to aid the king in his crusade to rule the world in twilight…?"

I was surprised the spirit even bothered to ask. Why would I help such an evil person I've never met with something so sinister? "Of course, I'll do whatever it takes to save Hyrule." I replied.

"Then… I shall make your body reject the twilight… The spirit of Faron can return you to your original form as well…" before I could ask what in the world the spirit meant, I felt an incredible heat coming from my body as my skin started to shine. I fell on my knees and grabbed my head, clenching my teeth and groaning for the pain to stop. Then, in an instant, the pain stopped and the light from Ordona vanished leaving me eye to eye with Link.

"Sehkmet..?" Link asked me.

"Huh..?" I looked at him, thoroughly confused, "Did you just… say something?" I could hear my own voice, but my mouth wasn't moving with the words. "What the hell is going on..?"

I could hear Link laugh. "Yeah, it was odd for me too, at first. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," he turned and trotted to the entrance, "We should hurry."

"Okay..?" I replied, trying to move forward. I looked down and, to my utter surprise, saw two furry red paws underneath the water. I started panicking, moving backwards until I fell into the deep end of the spring. Pushing my legs forward until I could get a good grip on the ledge to the shallow end, I skittered my way up out of the water and looked at myself in the water. I was a dog! I had the same eyes and my fur was the same fire red as my hair. I had sandy blonde markings on my forehead, like Link did. It looked like two tear drops chasing each other, for lack of better description. The mark was a bit familiar but I was too distressed to pay any close attention. I looked back and saw my bangle was still on my left ankle, and the golden scale was still hanging around my neck, nestled in my fur.

Hysteric laughing caught my attention as I looked toward the entrance. Midna was having fits of giggles, thoroughly amused at my anguish. I started walking towards her and Link, getting used to moving on four legs. Link gave me a worried look, "You okay?" he asked, worried about me after my reaction to my… situation.

"I'm fine. A bit shaken, but fine," I said at length.

"Tee hee! Another beast! I wonder what breed she is…" Midna gave me a mocking look, clearly not feeling any sympathy. We started walking towards Faron woods, starting our first actual conversation in a while.

"You look a bit like a coyote," Link suggested, "Like in the desert."

"Why would I be a desert animal?" I asked, confused by the whole thing, "I've never been to the desert."

"Well, I have seen them in Kakoriko. Are you from that area?" Link asked. I realized then how little we knew about each other. I figured since we would be going on this big quest together it wouldn't hurt to tell him a bit about myself.

"I don't know where I'm from. The zora queen adopted me when I was a kid. I was floating around Lake Hylia with a concussion. I don't really remember much before that."

"So you're an orphan?" he asked. I nodded, "I know how that is. My parents died when I was young, so I grew up in that house alone," Link stated without a hint of sadness in his voice. "I missed them a lot at first, but I learned to do a lot of things on my own and became a stronger person because of it. So I can't really complain."

"That's very admirable," I said as we approached the curtain of Twilight. He gave me a thoughtful look and turned his attention back to the trail ahead of us.

Midna sprung from Link's shadow and started talking with her usual smirk, "The Faron woods you know so well… They're now covered in twilight. You two might not be able to come back here… Do you still want to go?" she looked serious for a moment, but the expression changed back to her mischievous look. We both nodded and she flew through the curtain. A second later two giant hands grabbed onto Link and I, pulling us through the curtain of twilight. Once past the curtain, we took a look at the once beautiful Faron woods, now corrupted by twilight. I turn to Link, who now had Midna on his back again, and looked at his expression. I could tell he was upset at seeing the woods he grew up in corrupted by such a strange force. Midna, not one to let a sad moment deter her fun, complained about the sword and shield Link found for her. "Hmm! So these are weapons you use is your world?" She was wearing the shield on her face and holding the sword by its blade. She switched the blade over, grabbing it properly by the hilt, and started swinging the sword violently, which would have cut Link had he not ducked in time. "You really think this thing can slay the creatures of twilight?" Link started growling at her insults, clearly growing more aggravated by the imp, looking back at her. Midna threw the shield on Link's face and the sword by the front paw, and drawled, "…Well, I won't use these, but I'll hang on to them for you!" The sword and shield then disappeared into twilight, which I hoped we would be able to access later. "Alright, a promise is a promise… I trust you both to help," Midna leaned close to Link's ear, who was still growling at her, "In exchange for my help, though, I need you to gather some _things_ for me." She could see Link was getting more annoyed with her bossiness, "Look, I can't tell you all the details now, but it'll be easy, trust me…"

I could hear a faint sound in the next clearing of the forest. It sounded like a wailing ghost, and it made my hair -no, fur- stand on end. Midna started again, "But enough about that. Do you hear that noise? It's the lamentation of the spirit that had its light stolen…" Midna leaned back and checked her fingernails, which I didn't think she had, and continued, "Better get going, don't you think? Don't blame me for your world's fate if you don't hurry up and find that light!" she hummed a tune and snapped, "Come on! Snap to it!" Link then gave an aggravated sigh, though I had to applaud him for keeping his composure. I would have snapped at the imp by then if I was in his position.

Link walked closer and me and whispered, "How much longer do you think we'll be like this?"

"I'm not sure, but things will certainly speed up if I could get this walking thing down…" I drawled, tripping over my paws.

Link chuckled warmly, "You're thinking too much about it. Just move forward. Your legs will move accordingly."

Following his advice, I simply focused on moving forward, which made my legs quickly move below me. More confident in my ability to move, I tried running, which was a trial at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. Link ran after me until we were side by side. We saw the clearing with the next spring and sprinted towards it, but before we could progress further, more pillars of twilight fell around us, creating the walls like before. Knowing what to expect, I backed up to the edge of the wall, watching the sky to drop a monster. A red portal appeared but instead of dropping one beast, it dropped three.

Midna scoffed and exclaimed, "Aww… We're pinned in again! Pfft who do they think they're dealing with?" she smirked and stood up on Link's back, "You two can handle these guys by yourselves, right? Good luck! Bye!" she then flew to the outer edge of the cage we were in.

Link called out to me, "We'll both take one each. Then we team up on the last monster." Nodding, I leapt towards one beast sinking my teeth into its dark flesh. It was an odd sensation, and it tasted awful, but I pushed my discomfort to the back of my head and kept biting its neck until it fell. However, this time it didn't vanish like in Ordon spring. Link finished off his opponent seconds after I defeated mine, and we both set after the third beast. However, before we both lunged for the monster, it let out an all too familiar ear-piercing screech halting our steps. We both winced as our hypersensitive ears recoiled at the awful sound. After it was done making the god forsaken noise, we heard noise behind us. Turning around, our eyes widened as the beasts we just killed rose from the ground, their disgusting hands ripping at the ground below them to gain leverage.

"What now..?" I asked. Out of ideas, I ran over to Midna, who didn't hesitate to take residence on my back.

"What's the hold up? If you leave the last one alive, it's just going to use that shriek to bring the others back," Midna huffed.

"That information could have been useful before!" I barked at her, quite literally.

"Down, girl!" she said with a smirk, amused that I was so quick to snap at her, "Listen, let me help you out here! Just move like I tell you!" she kicked my sides to get me moving towards the monsters, which earned her a growl. Link was busy dodging the attacks of the creatures, so I didn't bother getting his attention.

"Link, take out one of them! I've got the other two!" I called to him, knowing he heard me. He didn't waste any time lunging towards the beast closest to him, quickly killing it. Then it was my turn to take out the last two.

"Stay still and jump at them when I tell you to," Midna whispered in my ear. I nodded, signaling I understood. I stood still with the beasts closing in on me. Once they got into a close enough range, Midna sent out an energy field, trapping the beasts in it. "Now!" at the command, I lunged from one beast to the other, ripping my claws through their throats. Both beasts fell, and all three of them vanished up towards the portal, turning it blue like before. Deciding not to waste time rejoicing, Link and I rushed towards the spring, seeing what looked like a broken spirit floating above the water. Link walked up to it causing it to speak.

"… Please… Be careful… These woods… have changed… blue eyed beast…" I tilted my head in question.

"Does it mean me or you?" I whispered to Link. We both had blue eyes, though Link's were deep blue like the ocean, while mine were light blue like ice. Both were blue, but diffidently not the same.

"Not sure," he curtly replied.

"Look… for my light… Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts… and keep it… in this vessel…" the spirit then materialized an object that looked very similar to a grape vine with empty orbs attached to it. The spirit called is a "vessel of light" and told us to kill the twilight creatures to return the "tears of light" to the vessel. The spirit also said that the beasts were invisible to the naked eye, to which I tilted my head again.

As we trotted off I turned to Link and asked, "If you can't see the beasts, how are you supposed to find them?"

"As animals we have heightened senses. Just focus on smelling instead of seeing. You'll know what I mean soon," he replied simply.

Trusting him, as he'd been an animal longer than me, I focused on smelling what was ahead of me, rather than seeing it. There was some movement ahead, like lightning moving on the ground. I focused on my sense of smell, to find the lightning had taken the shape of a bug! While I would never admit it out loud, I was scared of bugs. One insect in particular was the bane of my existence, but this bug wasn't it, so I wasn't going to dwell on it. As I was momentarily paralyzed in shock, Link was already attacking the bug, crunching into it with his fangs, which made me a bit queasy. Midna grunted and urged me onwards with her tiny heels. He killed a few more of the bugs as we followed the path to the front of Coro's house. I walked to the small wooden ledge outside of Coro's house while Link collected the tears. Midna flew ahead of me and looked into the house through the open balcony on the side of the house.

"There are some bugs in here! C'mon just up here!" Midna waved her hand-like hair at me, "Hurry up!"

Link trotted up beside me and whispered, "Just picture she's one of those monsters from before and leap for it. That's how I do it."

His comment was so out of character for him, I had to laugh. It was good to know that the imp was grating on his nerves as much as mine. We had a common enemy in our ally.

"What's so funny? Move it!" Midna yelled at me. Link had already jumped ahead, so they were both waiting on me. I didn't need to imagine Midna as some fearsome beast to want to lunge at her, so I jumped forward like I would if I were to attack, landing on the platform just below Midna. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you tried to attack me just then!" Midna giggled and returned her post on my shoulders. We all walked inside and I jumped down from the many boxes down to the floor. I looked in the corner and saw a ball of light quivering on some crates. When I honed my senses the light revealed itself to be Coro, mumbling about the strange bugs and how creepy they were. Just then, in the corner, two of the bugs revealed themselves, prompting me to attack. I grabbed one in my jaws, quickly crushing it before promptly spitting it out, while Link killed the other. We turned to Coro when he started talking louder.

"Wh-WHAAT? They just… died? Oh, boy, I have NO idea what's going on here…"

Link collected the two tears and we hastily left the frightened Coro alone. 'It's good to at least see he's safe.' I thought. We made our way back the direction we came and dug under the gate leading to North Faron, killing two bugs afterwards. We started into the tunnel killing a few possessed plants on our way. When we got out we found Faron woods covered in a purple smoke, which I could smell from the tunnel, and I could tell it was poisonous. If we spent too long in the forest we might die from inhaling the smoke. We lunged for the bugs at the entrance, but they revealed wings and started flying away from us. I quickly ran after it and slashed my claws through it, not wanting to have it in my mouth. Link killed the other, and Midna guided us through the trees so we could avoid the thickest cloud at the ground by the roots of the trees. We disposed of a few more bugs, jumped some more gaps from tree to tree, and killed even more bugs. At some jumps, we had to be quick and jump fast before the possessed plants could knock us off our balance. At one point there was actually a large log swinging back and forth from a vine net, looking suspiciously like a booby trap. 'Somebody thought this through well." I mused. We made it to the other side of the purple fog, had to dig up some more bugs hidden under the ground, and made our way further north. We were encountered by the twilight beasts and red portal, but Link and I quickly took care of the situation like we did before, creating another blue portal. I looked over and noticed what looked like a large hunk of a bridge. 'I was right about seeing more odd things…' We ran up a walkway and found a monkey being terrorized by two bugs. We killed the bugs and examined the monkey. 'Monkey..? Like in that dream…'

"Somebody… saved me?" the monkey thought aloud, "Boy, lucky for me… Ever since the boss went funny in the head, there've been scary monsters everywhere. Those village kids got led through the woods for some reason…" Link's ears immediately twitched at that news. 'So the kids are in this place…' I could tell Link was really worried.

Suddenly everything turned white and we found ourselves back at the Faron spring. The vessel of light returned to the water, lifting the twilight from the woods. While Link and I were rather happy about this development, Midna wasn't so thrilled.

"Aww, but it was so nice here in the twilight… What's so great about a world of light, anyway?" she giggled, done with her pouting, and said a simple, "See you later!"

The spirit revealed himself to be a large lemur, hanging on to his orb of light with his tail curling around himself. It started speaking in a deep voice, "My name is Faron." The spirit took a long pause and continued, "O brave youths… In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were both transformed into blue-eyed beasts. That was a sign… for the both of you… It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within one of you… and they are awakening… It was also a sign that… The other has a decision… that could decide the fate of this land…" I didn't know what this spirit was going on about, but I really wished he would cut to the chase. The past few days had made me lose all patience, completely shattering my "polite public figure" persona. I was a princess on a mission, and I'll be damned if I didn't complete it. The spirit started talking again, "Look at your awakened form…" I looked down to find myself back on two legs in a rather strange, and revealing, outfit. It consisted of a white, form-fitting cotton top, with the middle cut off, showing off my abdomen, with a brown leather vest and harem pants in a dark purple shade. I had gold armlets and on both arms and gold slippers on my feet. My arms and ankles were wrapped in bandages, in great contrast to the gold bangle with my name inscribed on it, and my golden scale hung from my neck, shining in the light peaking through the trees. To my delight, I found my leather belt to be resting on my hips, with everything in the pockets and pouches, including the knife and the bracelet I'd taken from Link's house. After I was done assessing my new outfit, I looked at Link, who was in a green tunic with chain mail and a white undershirt underneath with white pants and leather boots. He also had on leather gloves and a long green hat that hung past the sword and shield he collected earlier. The spirit explained his attire for him, "The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods… His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you."

'Is he saying what I think he's saying..?' I thought.

"Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods. Brave Link… You are the hero of time."


	9. Old Friends

**Author's Note: **A filler chapter. Let it be known that I have freaking glorified the chimps in this chapter. They are much stupider and slower in the game. Also, I threw in some lovey-dovey mushy stuff, because I'm awful. I'm also going to start putting in Link's thought pattern, because I want to.

Chapter 8

Link and I slowly walked to the entrance of Faron woods, stunned by the new development. On one hand, I was happy I finally found the hero mother sent me to find, but unfortunately, he was just as confused about the situation as I was. I decided to just be content with the fact that I located the hero, and that we were on relatively good terms. When we got to the gate leading to North Faron, we noticed it was still closed with a large lock keeping the gate from budging. I suggested we jump the fence, but Link thought it better to just suck it up and find the key.

"Maybe Coro has a key, since he lives so close," I suggested.

"Possibly. I needed to see him anyway. I'm running out of lantern oil," Link replied, his voice very serious. He'd seemed to be rather uneasy since we regained our human forms. 'He must be worried about the kids...'

"Oh you got a new lantern? That's good…" I mumbled, making the situation more awkward. Link simply nodded and continued walking towards Coro's house. When we arrived to his fire, Coro looked at us in surprise, but looked relieved we weren't monsters.

"Huhn? So… It's the Ordonian! You seemed familiar, but then your clothes seemed kinda different, so I got thrown off for a second!" I was standing behind Link, so I assumed Coro hadn't seen me yet. "Listen… Things have been a little rough around here lately, so you should watch your step, ok, guy? There are so many monsters now… I got kinda scared and closed off the path to the temple..."

"So you have the key to the gate then?" I asked Coro, stepping to Link's right so he could see me, "We need to get in."

"Se-Sehkmet? What in the world are you wearing?" I couldn't tell if Coro was offended or amused by my new outfit. Link turned to look at me, then saw what I was wearing for the first time. His face turned red for a moment, causing me to blush, and he turned away, trying to regain his composure. Luckily, Coro was oblivious to the exchange as he was busy looking at my clothes strangely.

"Uh... It's a bit of a long story…" I drawled, "But we really need that key."

"Sure, if you're so geared up for it. Here you go!" Coro said, reaching into his pocket and handing over the key. "Oh yeah," he added, "The woods on the other side of this cave are covered in a really thick fog, so make sure your lantern in full!"

"That's another thing we need. Link's lantern is running out of oil, so we were wondering if you had some to spare." I told Coro, who gave me a frown.

"Sorry, no deal, Sehk. A man's got to eat, right? It's a hundred rupees per refill." I gave a small grimace at the relatively steep price, but I reached for my wallet anyways. Link grabbed my arm in protest, over his little episode from before, but I shook him off and told him I owed him. I noted how firm yet gentle his grip was, but I pushed those thoughts back. I pulled out two purple rupees and handed to my old friend. "Good doing business with you!" Coro snatched the rupees from my hand and gave Link a new bottle full of oil. "Keep the bottle, as a special bonus."

"Thank you, Coro," I waved to him before I turned and started towards the gate again. We walked to the gate and Link pulled out the key to the gate from his pocket. He inserted the key, unlocking the gate, and swung the doors open. "Let's just get this over with," I drawled, not a fan of pitch black caves. Link nodded and held up his hand, the lantern appearing from thin air. I assumed Midna was behind it and think twice about it. I'd grown accustomed to her quirky way of going about things. Link hooked the lantern to his belt and drew his sword, walking into the tunnel. I drew my knife and followed him and made sure to keep close. Not five steps in, one of the possessed plants, deku babas I believe they were called, started snapping at us. Link knocked it back with his shield and I cut its stalk with my knife.

We sped up our pace, eager to get through the cave as fast as possible before more enemies could rush us. Unfortunately, the babas were right in the middle of out path, so we didn't have much luck avoiding those. We sliced through some more plants and bats (most people call them bats, but folks savvy to the old language call them keese), burned through some spider webs, which I stayed as far away from as possible, and finally made it to the other side. We walked forward to the fog, where Link pulled out his lantern, which made the fog recede from the light. Just as Link held up the lantern to see, the female monkey from before swiped the lantern on a stick and run off ahead of us. She started waving the stick in a circular motion, causing the fog to creep away from her a good bit.

"Hey, what's this monkey's problem?" Midna shouted, emerging from Link's shadow. "You idiot! While you were staring off into dreamland, your lantern got stolen!"

"I think she wants to guide us…" I suggested.

As if on cue, the monkey started waving for us to follow her. I wished Link would stand up to Midna after she called him names like that, but he took it in stride and ran after the monkey. I ran after them, debating on whether or not I admired or envied Link for his patience. The monkey ran rather fast, but Link and I were able to keep up. Some keese and a few deku babas awaited us on our journey, but we took care of them. We were right in the thick of the fog making good time running across the forest floor, when I had to ruin our streak of luck. A keese flew at my head from my left side, causing me to trip over a root and yelp. The root belonged to a deku baba, which was rearing its head to strike. Not having enough time to defend myself, I tried to get up and run after Link and the monkey, but the light from the lantern was long gone, and the poisonous smoke was billowing in around me. The smoke was starting to burn my lungs, forcing tears into my eyes. I started coughing and fell to my knees, preparing to be struck by the deku baba. I closed my eyes, ready for the blow, but all I heard was a high pitched whine and a gurgle, then a hand reached out and grabbed my own.

Yanking me back to a standing position, Link looked at me with concern. "Sehkmet, are you okay?" he asked, guiding me to the lantern's light by my hand. I took a deep breath of the fresh(er) air and nodded, not trusting my voice at that moment. He tugged on my hand harder and we made it out of the smoke quickly with the help of the monkey. The monkey dropped the lantern and Link walked over to it while she ran off to the temple. He examined it and said, "It ran out of oil. Good thing we have another bottle." He moved his right hand to retrieve the bottle from his belt, but couldn't because he was still latched onto my left hand.

We both quickly let go and jumped away from each other, blushing. I would have been lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy the hand holding, if only a small bit. The security of another person there was rather comforting, especially after being so close to death. I coughed, trying to expel the last of the smoke from my lungs, which prompted Link to give me another concerned look. I nodded at him, then pointed to the lantern and said in a raspy voice, "You should refill that before you forget."

"Oh, right," he said simply, returning to his original task.

We walked through the gate to the temple entrance, where the piece of bridge was propped up against the cliff, and were greeted by a few moblins. They didn't hesitate to run after us, swords and clubs in hand. I ducked into a kneeling position under one's club and blocked another's sword with my dagger. I knelt down more and turned, swinging my leg into the closest moblin, sweeping it into the moblin next to it. I smashed my foot into one's face and swept my knife across the other's throat, killing both of them. As I stood back up, I heard a loud 'CLANG' and turned to find Link had been disarmed by the last moblin. Before it could raise the sword to attack Link, I grabbed its arm and dropped my weight, dislocating its shoulder. While it yelled out in pain, I rammed my knife into its skull, making it disappear into black smoke.

Link walked over to sword, looking a bit ashamed that he was so easily disarmed. As upset as he was, I couldn't help but smile at the small pout he had on his face.I didn't bother wiping the smile off my face when he turned to me. I decided to take his mind off of it.

"I never got to thank you for saving me back there," I looked down, remembering the physical contact we shared before and fought back a blush, "You could have died if you weren't careful."

Link smiled, realizing I was trying to cheer him up. Though, he wasn't that upset to begin with. "You would have died if I wasn't reckless," then, without thinking he said, "You were worth it."

Of course, that made my face turn to fire, so I turned around and quickly walked off to the temple entrance, not bothering to look back to see if he was following. I wasn't sure why it got me so flustered, but it did. He said _I_ was worth risking his life. Like he would for the kids and Ilia. Though, to be fair, he was also risking his life to save the whole country, but that didn't occur to me at the time.

At first, Link thought he made me angry, and he assessed what he said. He said I was worth saving, which seemed innocent enough. Then he thought, 'What did I say?' He was sure we were friends by now, remembering me smiling at him when I figured out he was the wolf in the castle's dungeon. He thought back even further to me sleeping next to the fireplace, and how peaceful I looked. And the time I was injured and fell into his arms. The last one made his cheeks turn pink, but he shook his head and ran after me. He found me standing completely still, looking at a golden wolf sitting in our path. I had no idea what the wolf wanted, but he didn't look like he was going to move.

As I heard Link run up to me, I stepped aside and let him see the wolf. The wolf immediately started growling at him and Link took a defensive stance. It leapt at Link, and they both vanished in a bright light. Stunned, I walked over to where the two once were, looking around to see where they might have gone.

"Link?" I called out, hopeful. Not getting a response I sat down where the wolf once was and waited. Soon after I sat down, I heard a giggle.

"Tee hee! You _like _him don't you?" Midna teased, emerging from my shadow.

I looked her straight in the eye and replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Now diffidently isn't the time to be considering a romantic relationship."

"I never said anything about romance," Midna returned, "Just admit it; you have a little crush on that worthless beast."

I gave her a deadpan stare and opened my mouth, but before I could give her a piece of my mind she sunk into my shadow. I thought about what she said while I was waiting for Link to return. 'Do I like him? I just met him, and I know nothing about him. But I become so comfortable around him, like there's some familiarity in his presence…' I reached into a pocket on my belt and took out the bracelet I'd taken from Link's house. I examined it very closely, looking at every bead and the medallion-like piece in the center of the bracelet. It was the same symbol I had on my forehead when I was a coyote.

Then something struck me.

I stood and turned around, holding the bracelet into the light. 'That dream…! It was a memory!' Link had to be the boy in my memory. Why else would he have my bracelet? That's why Ordon and this forest seemed so familiar. Why _Link_ seemed so familiar. 'I wonder if he remembers me from back then…'

After spending a good time staring into "dreamland", as Midna put it, I snapped out of it to see Link laying a few feet in front of me, eyes closed. Slipping the bracelet on my wrist, I walked to him, curious as to how he got there without me noticing. I leaned down and put my hands on his shoulders, ready to shake him awake, but before I could start moving him, his eyes snapped open and he grabbed my wrists. He quickly sat up and stared at me for a moment with a very intense look in his eyes. Noticing our faces weren't too far apart, I went to move my hands from his shoulders, but he kept a strong grip, keeping my hands securely on his shoulders. My eyes met his and we just… stared at each other. We didn't move forward or backwards, we remained perfectly still, just looking into each other's eyes.

"I know you." He finally said, making me jump.

"I should hope so, after all we've been through," I replied, trying to mask my confusion with sarcasm.

"You'd think I'd remember a name like Sehkmet." He continued, "You're the girl from the travelers. The one who had that," Link said, nodding to the bracelet, "stolen by these monkeys."

"So you do remember…" I muttered, relieved and a bit spooked at the same time, "It happened before I lost my memories to the concussion. Something you said jarred the memory loose the day you saved me from the goat."

Then Link did the strangest thing. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to his chest, and hugged me for a long time. He pulled back and gave me a bright smile, "I waited a long time for you to come back."

"Sorry…" I said with a sheepish smile on my face. Link stood up and offered his hand to me, which I gratefully accepted. He helped me up and I started my interrogation, "So, where did you go just now? With the golden wolf?"

"To heaven." He replied simply.

Blinking in confusion I parroted what he said, "Heaven?"

"Well, it looked like heaven," he corrected, "There were clouds and a castle. It turns out the wolf was a spirit of a former hero. He taught me a new sword technique."

"Really?" was all I could say.

Link nodded and continued, "He then told me to remember the first time I sacrificed myself for another person, and to channel that courage into battle," Link turned to me and gave me the intense look he gave before, "That's when I remembered chasing of that monkey and falling from the cliff, getting the scar on my hand. I told you it would be-"

"The first battle scar of many… I remember." I smiled, looking at my newly decorated wrist, "You made me cry a lot that day, Mr. Knight." I teased.

He gave me a sheepish smile and started walking up the winding path to the forest temple, "Seeing you stand there with that thing made me remember." He looked over his shoulder and said, "If we don't see each other after this, I promise I won't forget you this time."

My face burned again, but I followed him nonetheless, not seeing the smirking Midna floating behind me.


	10. IMPORTANT NOTICE

My dear readers,

I'm afraid this story will no longer be updated with the current story line. I started this story in 2009, and my style has change considerably. I will, however, write a new story based in the Twilight Princess universe, it will be a romance, and the character will be relatively unchanged, looks-wise that is. Her name and back story will be changed drastically. I know the concept of a human girl raised by Zora was interesting to some people, and I will incorporate that, but I was having great difficulty forming a story around those terms. This new story, in my opinion, will be written better and have a stronger story-line. I really encourage you to check it out when I post it. And maybe, just maybe, if I can think if ways to save The Lost Heir, I'll try to continue it.

Yours truly, beyondcrazy


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